RL
by elfboylover
Summary: Two completely different crowds, one all bad and the other Ms. Perfect in a normal school setting. Trust me, it's M for your own good.
1. Default Chapter

A blinding flash of light woke him in a dizzy trance. "Huh? Wha?" Link moaned and rubbed his eyes. Someone had pulled the shutters wide apart, allowing the bright sun to shine right over the couch. "Rise and shine, Linky," a certain voice taunted. Link turned his head wearily and glared at Steve, his dorm roommate. The young man stood with one hand stuffed in his slacks and the other holding Link's black shirt. "Here," he said as he tossed it to his bare chest, "You kind of dropped this last night."  
  
With a knowing smirk, Steve left the living room with his tie slung around his neck and headed towards their kitchen to make some coffee. Link sat up and swung his legs over the couch. Scanning at the room, he saw a large bra lying tossed in the corner. 'Oh yeah,' he thought as he held it and fingered the lace and smiled, 'Vicky's.' He placed it on the cushions and tossed his shirt over his head, finding some tears where obviously sharp nails had clawed to make their way under.  
  
Link stretched as he stood up, buckling the belt around his pants that had made it loose the other night. He yawned and staggered to the full-length mirror and observed himself. Running a hand smoothly over his laxly arranged blond hair; he stared through startling light blue eyes that were underlined with weariness. "Come on," Steve said through a piece of toast as he fumbled with his tie, "We're gonna' be late for class." He shoved the rest of the toast into his mouth and brushed the crumbs from his white, collared shirt.  
  
Standing next to Link, he tugged and straightened his tie and ran a comb daintily through his dark hair. Link chuckled at Steve's painstaking care with a single strand, and looked at his own hair that was left untidy and yet naturally fell to the sides of his face. The two in the mirror could not have become any more different. Steve was obsessive with a business appearance, and he for one wouldn't give a hell. The ladies get under it all sometime or later, so what was the bother in a tie and buttons? Then it struck him dimly that Steve was a virgin to a fault, and he could also be called somewhat of a nerd.  
  
'The guy's missing on a lot of parts,' he thought humorously in a twisted view. His roommate strode over the room with the faint clicking of the heels on his shoes to a briefcase, smartly snapped and prepared on the desk for him to go. God damnit, he had a freaking briefcase. "Well? You're gonna' return that anytime soon?" Steve asked and pointedly motioned to Vicky's bra. "Yeah, yeah," Link replied and stuffed it in his pocket, then followed Steve out the door.  
  
A few other guys from the dorm were strolling towards the stairs to the main campus. Link came up to a young man with white blond hair and slapped his shoulder from behind. "Yo, man," he said and ruffled the guy's hair, "Who d'you fuck last night?" The boy turned around and pointed a finger against Link's chest. "It ain't 'who'," he said with a reckless grin, "It's 'whom'. And for your info, I would've liked Vicky better." "Aw, Sheik," Link said mockingly and wrapped a comforting arm around Sheik's shoulder, "You know that Vicky's only got it for me. Marin wasn't good enough for your Sir Cock?"  
  
Sheik pulled away from Link with a scoff and answered, "Dude, but Vicky's got those huge.Man I nearly jack every time I think about 'em. Do me a favor and get her drunk or something, then I'd get a chance to lance her with Sir Cock before she's sober." Link sniggered as they made their way to the stairs. On the steps was a thin boy with brown hair who was desperately trying to carry an amassed number of textbooks. Sheik spied him and nudged towards Link with a sneer.  
  
They walked nonchalantly towards him, then approached the boy from each side. "Whoops," Link said lightly as he rammed against the boy's arm. He fell towards Sheik, who shoved him harshly with a, "Yo, back off!" The boy stumbled on the steps and tumbled to the bottom, his books scattered around him and torn pages cluttering the steps. Link and Sheik laughed raucously as he tried to sit up and collect his books.  
  
Link picked up a textbook for him, and the boy grinned sheepishly and reached for it. Link grabbed a few pages and tore it out. "Ooh," he said slowly as he tore out handfuls of pages, "You're just gonna have to pay for that!" He chuckled and threw the damaged book against the boy's chest, then left with Sheik in a ring of laughter.  
  
***  
  
The school was a private school, having very educated professors in many fields and was mainly based like any other high school. The boys were separated from the girls in different dormitories, and the school grounds are the largest to house both dorms for classes. Only students with rich parents or with very impressive past records in academics could enter Deku Academy. But the crowds were the same.  
  
Link and Sheik met up with a few other boys in the cafeteria. They motioned towards each other, and exchanged fives. "How come you two bastards were late?" one of them asked. Sheik sat on a chair backward with his legs out on the side and said sourly, "I was up with Marin and Link had playfights undercover with Vicky." The rest of the group "ooh"ed and slowly turned to the blond with enthusiastic stares. "You lucky son of a bitch," another one joked, and the others looked on to him admiringly. Link sat on the table with one arm slung across his knee and grinned towards them when a large breasted girl caught his eye.  
  
The girl spotted Link and excused herself from her friends. "Hey man," said the first boy, "Here she comes." Vicky smiled at Link and strolled over, shaking her hips provocatively while the guys whistled and stared lustily at her breasts. "Hey," Link said softly and dangled her bra in the air by the end of a strap. "I kept it for ya." Vicky smiled through her red lips as she stood in front of him; her chest stuck right under his nose. "Thanks," she said and took it with one hand, then draped the bra over Link's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.  
  
The group hooted and hollered as Link hoisted her legs around him, and the two of them were making out in the middle of breakfast. A couple of classmen looked on with disgust at the scene as the two of them created a couple of light moans. Link massaged her thighs, and after a while they broke away. "Mm," the young man murmured as she stood up and walked away with a smile, "I'll see you after class."  
  
She giggled and winked at him flirtatiously. The guys whooped after her, and a few girls cast evil glares towards Link's direction. Sheik turned to Link when the commotion died down and said with a humorous tone, "Shit. That means I'm fucking with Marin again." A couple of them laughed, and Link answered, "You can have her when I'm done." "Dude," one of the guys jumped in, "Can I get her after?" Link scoffed at him and replied harshly, "Go wait in line."  
  
Just then, the bell rang in a harmonious peal, and the group scattered towards their classes. Link waved towards the rest of the guys while he and Sheik walked slowly out of the cafeteria together. They stopped past a few girls, making gestures and stalling their time to enter their room. A cross- looking man with aging hair and a round potbelly called towards the two of them. "Sheik! Link! Get into class or I'll see to it that you both get detention!!" The two boys waved to the giggling group of girls and strolled over lazily. "Hey, Mr. Rauru," Sheik said good mannerly and extended a hand, "How are you today? Feeling good?" The teacher looked at the young man skeptically over the rims of his small glasses.  
  
"I'd feel better," he answered strictly, "If you two would come in, and you in particular would not disrupt the class with wild fanatics." "Professor," Sheik said with a dramatic air of placing his extended hand towards his chest, and feigned a look of shock and pain, "You know me better than that." Link looked at the two of them with interest. Professor Rauru raised an eyebrow and answered, "Unfortunately, that is something I wish never to accomplish. Come in so I may begin class."  
  
Sheik sighed and slapped the teacher's back hard. "All right," he said as he rubbed his hand around Rauru's back soothingly, "You da' man." Rauru rolled his eyes and motioned them into the classroom. Link stifled a laugh when he caught sight of a paper taped to Rauru's back before he sat down. He looked at Sheik, who wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.  
  
"Class," the professor began and turned to the blackboard, "Before we begin- " He was interrupted by a loud eruption of laughter. The teacher turned towards them and saw that many of the students were sniggering and coughing down chuckles. He frowned and continued to the blackboard, "As I was saying, before we begin I'd like to-" Again the laughter exploded. This time Rauru searched the plane of his back and yanked the sheet of paper off. "Got pussy?" it read.  
  
He tore it into pieces, his face very red, and threw the remnants in the trash bin. Sheik sat in his desk with a particular look on his face as Link leaned over and slammed a high five on his hand. Rauru stood in front of the blackboard in a defiant pose and waited for the class to quell its hilarity. "If there are any further interruptions," he said flatly, "Please hold until after class." He eyed Sheik coldly, who returned in an innocent, blank look.  
  
Rauru frowned and continued, "I wanted to announce that we have a new student with us today. Ms. Harkinian, would you please come up?" Link's eye caught the motion of a tall girl from the back of the room who stood and walked up towards the teacher. She had wavy blonde hair that noticed the light every time it curled, and reached down below her back. Half of it was tied up with a rather expensive looking hair decorator, and a few light tendrils fell at the side of her high forehead. She made her way rather confidently, but no doubt she was a bit nervous.  
  
"Class," the teacher introduced, "Please welcome Ms. Zelda Harkinian." A few people said a greeting, some waving towards her. Zelda nodded towards them, her long, full lashes blinked over those large blue-violet eyes. Link looked at her over with amusement, the outfit she wore was bright and quite concealing. With her hair, it made her look like a modern day princess. "Zelda," Rauru said encouragingly, "Is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself?"  
  
She looked at him brightly and smiled. "No, professor," she answered respectfully, "There's no need to take time into introducing me any further." The teacher nodded in approval and slight admiration as he motioned her to be seated. She was headed towards her little corner when a red head motioned for her to sit in the chair closest to her and right next to Link. Zelda obliged with a grin towards the girl and sat down.  
  
Link leaned over to her and whispered under Rauru's voice, "So, your name's Zelda?" She looked at him from the board and nodded quietly, then retrieved her fresh science notebook for the class. The young man waited for a response, then scowled and slumped back into his seat. The girl was no point in trying to take, not like the sexy ones he had a stock of every so often.  
  
*Hey! Just a brief introduction to get some people in the picture. It's my first love fic, but I'm a hopeless romantic so the plot will thicken ^_~ All I can say is there are going to be a lot of old characters and more than one couple. Also introducing the REAL bad boys and a few very sweet scenes between Zelda and yours truly! Keep reading, and please R&R!! 


	2. Chapter 2, chapter 2! R&R, it's chappy 2...

Zelda looked anxiously at the map of the school and the schedule she had in her hand. It seemed that her next class was in the Music room next to staircase #9. 'Damn,' she thought, as she desperately looked around for a sign of help. "Excuse me," a voice came from behind her. Zelda turned and saw the red head whom she was sitting close to during class. "Hi," she said.  
  
The red head replied with a "hi" and seemed to jump from where she stood. "You didn't get to say much during class," she answered and playfully flicked a strand of red hair from her cheek, "I'm Malon. Did you need help finding your way?" Zelda nodded enthusiastically and Malon reached for her schedule. "Let's see," she pondered, "Oh, you have Ms. Nayru! She's really nice, but her class is far away."  
  
Malon tucked the slip of paper in her hand and grabbed Zelda's arm. "Come on," she said and pulled, "I'll take you there and show you around. My class isn't far from there, it's right across." Zelda smiled at her warm, bouncy nature and followed her through the halls. "So," Malon began as they cut through the campus outside, "Where are you from?" Zelda shouldered her book bag and answered, "I've been around. My dad owns a small company, so I've been just about everywhere."  
  
Malon's bright blue eyes glowed. "Your dad owns a company?" she said in awe, "You must be super rich!" Zelda shook her head and smiled. "It's not that great," she replied, 'I've never stayed at one place for more than half a year. But he sold his company last year, and we decided to move back here to our hometown for good." "That's good," the red head exclaimed, "It's awful trying to start over again. School's one thing, but friends are a complete mess. Not to mention any boyfriends." She trailed off enthusiastically.  
  
"No," Zelda answered, "Not enough time for that." Malon scoffed and gestured to the school. "Well here, we've got plenty of 'em to choose from," she said openly, "And after I've shown you around, you won't ever want to leave." She gave her a sideways glance and a suggestive smile. Zelda chuckled and they entered the other end of school.  
  
While they were crossing the vast hallway, Malon tugged her arm and pointed to a few students. "That's Rebecca," she said towards a girl in the center of a small crowd, "She's okay if you're a cheerleader or someone she can take advantage of, but she avoids the nerd and the individualist crowds as much as possible." Rebecca caught sight of Malon and waved, a brilliant white smile shining while her teeth chewed on gum. "Malon! See you in practice!"  
  
Malon waved back at her and a few other girls who called out after her. Zelda turned to her when they were away and said, "You're a cheerleader?" Malon nodded brightly. "Yeah," she answered, then turned and gave Zelda an examining look, "Do you want to join us?" Zelda stuttered uneasily, "Well, I'm not very sure." The red head burst out in laughter. "Don't worry," she chortled, "It's not a cult or anything. Don't take every cheerleader for Rebecca, we're not all like that. I only avoid the nerds, because they scare me." She spied someone and nudged Zelda into a crowd of students. They casually passed by a young man in a white shirt and a tie, who checked his watch and sighed exasperatedly as he made his way through the hall with a briefcase.  
  
"What's wrong?" Zelda asked amusedly at Malon's expression, "Old boyfriend?" The girl's face flushed in a bright red against her hair and retorted, "Boyfriend?! That, girl, was a major nerd. I put huge warning signs around him." "What's his name?" "Steve Whitner," Malon replied with a shudder, "The boy's cute, but he's too self centered and nerdy. You won't get noticed by him unless you were disguised as a computer."  
  
Malon continued to point and direct others. She was obviously very friendly and popular among many people, for most of them waved or acknowledged her happily. Before Zelda knew it, they were in front of a door with a gold plate engraved, "Music, Ms. Nayru." Malon sighed and said sadly, "Darn, I didn't get to show you any of the cute guys around. And-oh, here!" She thrust Zelda's schedule back in her hand.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Malon," Zelda said gratefully. "I'm not done yet!" Malon replied, "You and I still have History, Gymn, and lunch together! I'll take you to your Math class after music, okay?" The blonde blinked in surprise. "You memorized my schedule?" she asked. Malon smiled secretly and waved as she entered her classroom. Zelda grinned after the red head and entered the music room.  
  
"Ah," said a young woman with a warm smile, "You must be Zelda. Please, sit wherever you feel comfortable." Zelda nodded and took her seat next to a haughty looking girl who seemed to be examining her through liquid blue eyes. Ms. Nayru stood in front of the class and looked at each student. "Zelda will be our new student, I want you all to welcome her and make her feel comfortable," she said, "Now, to brush up on events. The performance this spring would be a musical, and auditions are available for solo and lead parts."  
  
A few eager students clapped in approval. The girl sitting next to Zelda sat straight in her chair, her small chin pointed up and a light smile on her face. Ms. Nayru continued, "The leads in the play would require singers with a good voice intonation and can produce enough sound to be heard. Soloists are not expected to involve in any exhausting movement, but pitch and clarity is unquestionably expected. The music would be originally composed by me and any other student who wishes to provide a score for the enormous list of songs. So," she said with a gleam in her calm, dark blue eyes, "Is there anyone daring?"  
  
Zelda felt a hand shoot itself up into the air, and she looked at the girl next to her sit in the edge of her seat. However, Ms. Nayru called on a boy in the back row. "Yes, Ian?" "What's the play about?" he asked. "The play," she replied, "is somewhat of an original my sister Ms. Din came up with when she had too much caffeine in the morning." A laugh scattered around the room. Ms. Nayru smiled and went on, "It is like a Sleeping Beauty with a Sword in the Stone twist, and much more exciting and thought out than any Disney company could think up. It involves a princess being cursed by a powerful sorceress, a conspiracy between two kingdoms regarding the princess's country, and a young brave hero destined to have unleashed the power of a sacred blade held protected by a temple. I believe there is a lot more to that, and you'll only find out more if you see the play three months later or become a part."  
  
Murmurs spread in approval and excitement. The girl next to Zelda practically whimpered for attention. "Yes, Ruto?" Ms. Nayru called on her. "When," Ruto asked, "and where do we audition and how fast would we know when we've been picked?" "If you want to try out for a part, there is a list of dates and roles outside Ms. Din's room," the teacher replied, "As to how long that will take, it will have to depend on how many people audition." Many people exclaimed eagerly. "I wonder how cute the boy role gets to be," a girl from the side giggled to one of her friends.  
  
"With that aside," Ms. Nayru ushered the class, "Can we pass out the folders please? Yes, Ruto, you may, and you, Greg." Zelda watched Ruto as she passed out the folders with an air of indignant pride, nearly tossing one towards Zelda's face. Then she sat next to her with a cold, sideways glance and sat up straight. Zelda shook her head and sighed while she flipped through the pages of her music. She wasn't going to audition anyway, so whatever competition Ruto might feel she had wouldn't happen.  
  
***  
  
Sheik took his time to the music room for the past...half-hour. Each class was fifty minutes long, but the ten-minute break in between was just not long enough to browse around. He was now finally past the stairs and took the most strictly slow steps towards Ms. Nayru's room. The choir was singing and the piano was played gracefully by the teacher from inside the door. Sheik developed an excuse, though he didn't really need it with Ms. Nayru. So he decided to hang around for just ten more minutes right outside the door.  
  
He whistled to himself lightly and glanced around, and saw a bright red head next to the window of the room across. Sheik stopped whistling and ducked immediately against the room out of sight. It was Malon, studying a textbook and a calculator as she slowly made her way across the room. He glanced up periodically to see her long, red hair shake while she walked. A grin split across his face as he slowly stood up and peeked over the window.  
  
Malon's back was towards him, and he rapped the window. She stopped and looked around incredulously when she spied him. Sheik smiled impishly and waved, and her face wrinkled in a cute frown. She turned away, glancing back once to see if he had gone, then kept her way to a small group of students poring over a math problem. Sheik pulled away from the window and chuckled to himself. It was probably time to get into class before little Malon got mad and sic her professor on him.  
  
He knocked on the door lightly, then shrugged and twisted it open. Ms. Nayru stopped playing and looked behind her. "Sheik," she said half expectedly, "I was wondering when you decided to come in." He raised his eyebrows in slight surprise and answered, "So I don't need to say my brilliant excuse, Ms. Nayru?" The teacher motioned for him to sit. "Not at all," she answered, "Enlighten us with your magnificent tale some other time, please."  
  
"Cool, Miss 'N'," he gave her a thumbs up and winked at a group of girls. Most of them giggled while a few looked away with flushed faces. He smiled as he made his way to the second row, behind a familiar looking blonde. "Hey, Miss N," he said as he sat down and pointed at the girl, "There's some stranger here I don't know. What's up with that? I leave for less than forty minutes and some chick decides to take over. I thought we trusted each other!"  
  
Several people laughed, including Ms. Nayru. The blonde turned around and faced him with a slight smile on her delicate features. "I'm Zelda," she said calmly, "You were in my science class, weren't you, Sheik?" That's right, the new girl. "Oh yeah," Sheik answered, "All right, then we're cool." She shook her head and smirked, then turned around. Sheik leaned back and placed his feet against Zelda's chair. She shifted uncomfortably as she sang, and he wiggled his toes from side to side.  
  
After a while, Zelda turned to him and asked firmly, "Please take your feet off of my chair." Sheik placed a false look of shock. "Well, where else can I put 'em?" "Somewhere I can't smell them," she said hotly. A few people "ooh"ed and Ms. Nayru stated quickly, "Sheik, please sit in a proper posture and do not disturb Zelda." "Yeah, yeah," Sheik said lazily and slid his feet off the ground with a thump, "Just cause you said so and she's the new kid." 'With some nerve,' he thought to himself, 'Bitch ought to know who's who in this school.'  
  
She'll need a proper lesson. And he'll see to it that Link gets into it, too.  
  
***  
  
After math with the stern Professor Darunia, Zelda was more than happy to leave for her next class with Malon. She waited in the hall for her, and caught sight of the red hair in the crowd. The red head saw Zelda and crossed the crowd in eagerness to reach her. "Hey!" she greeted her. "I'm so glad to see a bright face," Zelda said, "Mr. Darunia's was like a rock." Malon's eyes widened and exclaimed, "How dare you compare me to that hard thing!"  
  
Zelda smiled and answered, "True, since his was so much less skimpy." Malon stuck her tongue out and they laughed while she led Zelda through the halls. She continued to show her other people, then stopped completely when she spotted a tall, pretty senior with a copper brown tan talking with a group of people. "Ooh!" she shouted happily as she took Zelda by the hand towards them. "Nabooru!"  
  
The senior girl turned around, and Zelda could see that she wore tons of make up. Nabooru's face beamed in a wide smile and extended her arms out. "Mally! How's my girl?" Malon gave her a hug and led Zelda forward. "This is Zelda, she's new," she introduced, "Zelda, this is Nabooru. She's been my friend for ages, and she's like a sister to me." "Hey, Zelda!" Nabooru greeted heartwarmingly, "Are you interested in going in the student congress?"  
  
"Not fair!" Malon retorted before Zelda could answer, "I wanted her to join cheerleading!" Nabooru played with Malon's hair. "Oh, alright," she said in a playful tone of disappointment, "But when she's brainwashed we're taking her." "Nabby!" Malon shrieked. Someone called Nabooru over, and she waved back at them. "See you guys later! And Zelda, nice to have you here!" "Bye, Nabby!" "Bye, Nabooru!"  
  
Malon looked after her in admiration. "She's been my idol since I first met her," she said to Zelda. "She is really nice," Zelda said approvingly. "Yeah, well- ooh!" Malon started, "I've got to show you around and get us to class in less than five minutes!" Zelda followed Malon through the halls and met up beside her.  
  
"History's gonna' be fun," Malon said to her, "Mr. Talon's always sleeping, and he never wakes up unless it's something important. But that happens like, every full moon or so." She smiled and pointed towards their left. "This is a shortcut, the faster we get there, the further seats we'll have from the board." "You don't pay attention during class?" Zelda asked. Malon tilted her head up in a skewed gaze. "Well, he's really not awake unless we really should be listening. So don't worry about it."  
  
Zelda nodded and followed Malon's directing. Down the hall, there was a large group of boys. One of them was extremely tall, with a threatening pose and glance. They were lounging around in the middle of the hall, picking out a few individuals who seemed frightened. "Oh shit," Malon cursed and dragged Zelda down the other hallway, "Forget the shortcut. We'll have to take the long way through the crowd."  
  
"What's wrong?" Zelda asked curiously. "That's Ganon and his gang," Malon answered with a tone of caution, "They're extremely popular and dangerous. You don't want to hang around them or Link's groupie." Zelda was about to ask Malon just who Link was, when a small group crossed between the two of them. "Excuse me," she said as she tried to push by them. Malon had vanished, and she looked for her red hair. Nothing, except moving bodies in the hallway, just which side did they come in from? Zelda found herself completely lost in the crowd as she tried desperately to find her way.  
  
***  
  
Link and the guys strolled unconcernedly through the nearly deserted hall. He spotted Ganon and his buddies, who stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched Link walk up to him. "You got something for us, fag?" said Ganon as he gnawed at a chewing gum. "Fuck you," Link answered, "Move." Ganon played around with the gum with his tongue, then spat it on the floor. "You wanna get to class," he said in a low voice, amber eyes flickering, "You better damn give us something. Either that or I paint this hall shit red with your fucking blood."  
  
A crowd was forming around them, as everyone waited for what was going to occur. Link smiled and shook his hair, a gold earring from his left ear glittered. "I could kill you with just the number of girls I've fucked around with," he replied. Ganon's teeth spread in a grin. "You wanna come and try to fuck around after I'm done with you," he said.  
  
Link barely dodged when Ganon's arm swung towards his cheek. The gathering crowd gasped, and the guys were all cheering them on. Link watched his moves closely, but even though Ganon was much stronger he was, Link had agility and a smaller form. He landed a punch against Ganon's side, which turned out to be rock hard with muscle. Ganon continued to punch while Link dodged or blocked with his fists.  
  
One of Ganon's punches landed luckily on Link's shoulder, and a spasm of pain erupted throughout his entire arm. Another punch sent his head on a wild spin, and Link luckily missed the last punch and kicked Ganon's stomach hard from under. He continued to kick until Ganon finally backed off to catch his breath, and at that time Link shocked him with a blow to the face. The guys were rooting for them, and the crowd was joining in on the shouts.  
  
At that moment, Link saw a flash of silver. Ganon was on him with a knife, and it was before long that he heard the yells of teachers and arms pulling him back. Professor Darunia's huge hands were tight around Ganon's arms to keep him from jumping towards Link with the knife. Students and teachers crowded around him, and pulled himself away from the teachers. Ganon finally escaped the grasp of Darunia and was looking at him fiercely through the red of his bloodied nose.  
  
"Dude," Sheik's voice came from Link's side as he watched Ganon and his gang depart down the hall, "Let's go." The crowd dispersed, the teachers frustrated but unable to control anything, and Link and the guys left to the other hall. A strong sensation was left in his left arm, but other than that and a bruise on his face was all he suffered.  
  
"Man, that was just so cool!" one of them exclaimed and slapped Link's arm, which responded painfully. "Hey back off, Brian," Sheik snapped, "Way cooler than anything you've fucked your life." Link smiled a bit at Sheik's defense. They made their way down the crowded hall when someone bumped into him. "Yo, watch it!" he shouted while it backed away. "I'm sorry," a soft voice replied, "but can you tell me how I can get to Professor Talon's history class?"  
  
Link saw the shining blonde hair and the large blue-violet eyes, then recognized the girl. She was the one next to him during Science, the new girl. Zelda.something? "What do I look like, some tour guide?" he answered. A couple of others sniggered, and Zelda looked at them coolly. One of them joked, "Hey, I think she's lost. How many blondes does it take to find the end of the hall?" The group erupted in a loud raucous laughter. Link glanced at the girl through chuckles and saw that she did not display any discomfort.  
  
"Probably a lot less than it takes for seven bastards to figure it out," she answered and turned. "Hey," one of the guys grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. Zelda struggled to break from the grasp as he muttered in her face, "You wanna know why some little girls go to bed early at night? How 'bout we show ya?" Link frowned at the suggestion when Zelda bit into the guy's hand. "ARGH! FUCK! Bloody little BITCH!!"  
  
She broke free and ran down the hall before anyone else could grab her. 'Smart little bitch,' Link thought to himself and smiled lightly. He stopped a few guys from running after her, while some others were looking at the impressive marks on the guy's bloodied hand. "Go get a nurse or something," he said irritatedly when the guy began to complain. The bell rang, and they exchanged "Laters" then split for class.  
  
Link waited until they were all gone, then went down the hall towards the History wing.  
  
***  
  
"There you are!!" Malon screamed when Zelda entered the room, "I looked for you everywhere and I couldn't find you! Where the hell have you been? What's wrong with your hair?" Zelda reached up towards her long, silky hair and found that it was loose and in disarray. 'Shit,' she thought angrily, 'I lost my hair tier.' Malon didn't give her time to explain when she pulled her over to the back of the room. "Tell me later," she said and pulled a seat next to hers. The room was extremely noisy, and like Malon had said, Mr. Talon was snoozing comfortably in a lounge chair in the front of the room.  
  
Malon tsked while she smoothed out Zelda's hair and surveyed her like a mother hen. "You looked like you've been harassed," she said in a worried tone. "You can tell?" Zelda murmured unhappily. Malon's eyes widened. "Holy shit," she answered in a low voice, "I was just kidding. Are you fucking serious?"  
  
Zelda sighed and told her about the group of guys she ran into in the hall. Malon looked more and more like a frightened baby chick and ran a hand soothingly down her back. "By any chance," the red head asked, "Was one of those guys really tall with blond hair and blue eyes, and was he like, the boss or something?"  
  
The description was so uncannily correct that Zelda stuttered, "Uh.do you- know him?" For the next fifteen minutes, Malon let out a stream of frustrated remarks. "I told you to avoid Ganon AND Link and his little pals! I leave you alone for ten minutes, and for one fucking moment I thought you could've been hurt, or even worse! That's it! I'm never leaving you out of my sight again! Not until you know just where you ought to go and who you just can't hang around with!"  
  
For the rest of the class period, Malon had gone over the safe routes Zelda should take to her classes, and seemed to ease off a bit. "You have Art next," she recited from memory at the last minute of the bell, "and I won't see you until Gymn after that. Then we've got lunch, and oh! I have to let you try the chocolate mousse they're serving today!" She licked her lips at the thought. "Be there early. They are that good."  
  
The bell rang, and Malon gave her a reassuring hug. "I'm sorry I was mad," she said, "but I was seriously freaked out. Don't do that to me ever again: don't ever hang around with those two groups." Zelda smiled at her friend's concern, then waved good bye as they went to separate ways. She only had to cross this hall and then turn right, as Malon told her.  
  
Zelda shook her free, loose hair and let it tumble around her shoulders. She sighed at the loss of her hair tie. It was actually a jewel her mother had gotten for her and sewn it on a hair tie to keep it against her hair. Zelda didn't miss her mother so much, but when she was young she had known the woman to have truly loved her. There weren't many things for her to cling onto as for a family. This was one of the very few exceptions.  
  
"Hey," a voice came from behind. She turned around and saw him, the boy Malon had been ranting on and off to avoid, the one with the startling blue eyes and a reckless grin. Without another moment, she hurried her steps to shake him off. "Yo, slow down a bit," the boy strode after her and tapped her shoulder lightly. When she wouldn't stop, he cut her off in the front with a sigh.  
  
"Zelda, right?" he said. She looked at him unexpectedly. Where were those guys he hung around with? How come he's stopping her from getting to class? Link, that was his name, she finally figured. He stood in front of her in that black shirt and pants, his blond hair arranged more neatly that she had remembered it to be. His eyes seemed to scan over her, and she stood shifting uncomfortably.  
  
"Whatever it is," she said coldly, "Just leave me alone and let me get to class." Link had a quizzical look on his face. Malon was right. Even though he was someone she ought to avoid, he is hot.  
  
"Well then," he said and reached for something in his pocket, "Take this with you." Zelda's eyes gleamed as she saw her hair tie. She took it from his hand and saw that the jewel had not been damaged in any way.  
  
"Thank-"  
  
She looked up and saw him, halfway across the hall, with a girl under each arm as he possessed them with his charm. His face was in a flirtatious grin as he whispered something in one girl's ear and began to nibble at it. Not once did he look back at her.  
  
Zelda shouldered her book bag and walked towards her Art room. Before she opened the door, she looked back at him. There was something different in the way he spoke to her compared to the tone he used with those girls. 'Whatever,' she brushed away the thought. She was going to stick with Malon's advice and avoid him. Even if he was really hot and quite thoughtful.  
  
  
  
~Ack, I write too much. "Where's the love?!" Eep! *turns chibi and dodges scorching flames. These things take time, you can't just make them...uh, yeah ~_~ Next chapter has a bit more things to it, and if I can just get more reviews I'll see that there's a Chapter four as well. Sniff, pwomise me, pweese! Lol, ^_^ 


	3. THREE! Chaaaaaapter Three! Yay! I suck ...

Sheik searched around the crowd for a certain face, but to no avail. He shrugged disappointedly to himself and decided to find his way through the halls. He wondered blankly how Link was doing with all of those bruises...then, the sight of someone stopped him entirely. 'Fucking crap,' he thought to himself at the dangerous cut out features of Ganon plowing through the hallway.  
  
Ganon looked extremely pissed, and his eyes glinted dangerously at those around him that they shrunk away. Sheik decided to play it easy and tried to put as much crowd between him and Ganon's gang as much as possible. However, his white blond hair was not hard to spot. Two of Ganon's buddies spotted him and nodded to each other. Sheik felt uneasy as they pushed through the crowd towards him. His natural instinct was to run the fucking hell out of here, but instead he placed a good-natured look of surprise and smiled when they reached him.  
  
"Hey, how's it go-" he was cut off short when they slammed him against the wall. A few girls screamed and a wide arc was formed around them. While Sheik tried to gain balance, one of the two guys grabbed him by the throat. "Aw, look," Ganon shifted from the crowd and projected his voice with dramatic waves of his arms, "It's one of those fuckers from Linky's little fucking friends!" He looked at those around him, who gave of contemptuous grins and laughs.  
  
Sheik felt a boil of anger, but with seven against one his odds were quite bleak. He grabbed on to the guy's arm to keep himself from choking and managed a sly smile. "Man, it's Ganon!" he sputtered, "Dude, I could die happy!" Ganon's amused expression turned dark as he leaned against the wall and kept his face an inch away from Sheik's. "You could just die," he murmured in a low voice, "but first, give this little message to Linky for me."  
  
He punched Sheik hard on the cheek, tearing at skin and blood vessels that it began to bleed. Ganon's friends laughed, and Ganon kept punching Sheik's face from side to side. Sheik bit back screams of pain, but God this felt like dying. The guy's hand was still pinning him against the wall while Ganon knocked every surviving breath out of him each time he landed a blow. He was growing so numb; his brain was starting to lose some nerves.  
  
Someone shifted in the arc of the crowd, there was red...that could just be his blood. The someone was moving towards the edge of the crowd, the red in his eyes grew bigger. "Stop it!" it cried, "Stop it, just leave him alone!" Sheik couldn't see through the tangled mass of bloodied hair, but the punches had stopped completely. The growing red had also stopped. It was..facing Ganon.  
  
"Just what did you say, you little bitch?" he heard Ganon's unmistakable voice. Sheik gasped painfully, the guy's grip was still around his throat and he couldn't last much longer without air. "I said stop it!" The voice again. His lungs were tearing out of his ribs, and his heart seemed to have stopped beating. But that voice...  
  
There was some low conversing, and he felt the hand slip. Sheik slid down to the floor, taking in deep swallows of air. Then he felt his chin being forced up and barely recognized Ganon's rasp. "Just a warning," he whispered, "If I ever find Link by myself, I'd make sure he died like you should have." Sheik felt a huge blow against his skull that sent him to the ground, and heard one voice scream while several others were laughing. Feet scattered hurriedly and left him there sprawled and barely breathing.  
  
Sheik laid there coughing specks of blood for several minutes, then felt a soft hand part the hair from his eyes. With enormous effort, he opened them and blinked out the blood. No, his gaze was unclear and there was something red there still. He blinked again, but the red refused to go away. Sheik tried to speak, but that voice again spoke comfortingly, "Shh, don't. I'll get the nurse." The red began to move again, and he heard someone walk down the hall. Then, the footsteps stopped as the voice seemed to turn and called back, "By the way. I only did that because not even a fucking bastard like you deserved something like that."  
  
The footsteps continued and then receded. Sheik breathed in shallow breaths, but he couldn't help but grin at the derisive remark. Finally, he rested his aching body in a convulsed sleep.  
  
***  
  
Ms. Farore was the middle of her two sisters, and the bounciest teacher Zelda had ever known. They spent most of their art class helping out the play by developing ideas for props and scenes. Zelda presented some sketches, upon which Ms. Farore (and to Zelda's embarrassment) displayed in front of the class.  
  
The rest of art class went pleasantly, and Zelda felt herself comfortably relaxing during the last ten minutes of class. She let her thoughts wander for a while, then it fell on that boy. The boy again, was he so interesting?  
  
Her hand felt around the jewel she had kept in her pocket ever since. The Link who had given it back to her to the jerk she bumped into in the hallway...they couldn't have been the same person. "He's the most obnoxious jerk ever created!" Malon's words echoed in her mind, "I swear, he goes through girls and toss them over his shoulder whenever there's a bigger cup size around! He's only in Deku Academy cause his parents are fucking rich, probably to get rid of him! I don't blame them, why if I had a damn moment with that bastard by myself I'd...."  
  
Zelda chuckled to herself, and tried to remember the way his eyes captured the light and how his hair seemed to fit perfectly over that well sculpted face.. She sighed and laid her head in her arms. It was just the way he looked at her when he gave her back her tier... Link couldn't possibly be how like Malon described him.  
  
The bell came faster than she had thought, and Zelda rushed to place her things in. "Bye, Zelda!" Ms. Farore called after when she left the door after the rest of the class. In the hallways, Zelda noticed a lot of people whispering. "..yeah, I think he did!" "Ohmigods, are you serious?! It couldn't have been him!" "And can you guess just who he was talking to?" Zelda froze.  
  
Who were they talking about? It sounded a lot like..no, that's stupid. Why would they talk about that? It wasn't like they did anything. Besides, she was just here today, rumors can't spread that fast in a school within one class period.  
  
Zelda decided to ignore as many people as possible to reach the locker rooms. A girl seemed to be jumping from group to group in the hallways. From the corner of Zelda's eye, she could see that the girl had spotted her. 'Shit,' she thought and hurried to walk faster. The girls seemed a bit agitated, and sprinted towards her.  
  
"Hey!" she said without a care of who she was talking to, "Did you hear what happened?" Zelda tried to play dumb, but she felt as if a sweatdrop was coming down the side of her face. "Uh...what do you mean?" she asked stupidly. The girl gave her a long, examining stare and slowly said, "Heyy...I don't know you. Are you new or something?"  
  
Zelda felt uneasy. If the girl found out she was the new student and placed that and the rumor together, she would surely know that it was her and Link before in the hallway. Was he that popular to start a fire like this?! "Well," she began, "I've never seen you before either." "Oh," the girl answered, "I'm Navi. Maybe we just haven't met, but if anything goes around that's kind of funny, just tell me and I'll sort it out for you."  
  
"Oh, great," Zelda answered doubtfully. Navi's light blue eyes seemed to snap to attention. "Hey," she said, "Didn't you hear what happened the beginning of the last class?" 'Oh damn!' "No," she lied. "Oh," Navi shrugged and smiled with a certain gleam in her eyes, "You just won't believe just what happened!" 'Fucking shit, fucking damn!!!' "One of Link's friends got pulverized by Ganon!"  
  
'Oh-' "What?" Zelda asked suddenly. "Well," Navi said with a finger against her chin, "I think it was Sheik, but the real deal was this. Ganon would've splattered the guy's guts when some girl stopped him. Damn, that sucks. I really don't like that kid a lot but oh well." "A girl stopped Ganon?" Zelda repeated. "Yeah," Navi replied and nodded, "It's weird how she stood up like and demanded Ganon to stop. Risky for a little bitch, but maybe she was really hot and promised Ganon some favors..."  
  
"Did anyone see who she was?" "Oh yeah," Navi said, "I hear that it was Malon. Can't be sure though, she's not that hot..." Navi suddenly saw a group of people and leaped towards them and began to talk in a furious rate, while her listeners' eyes got bigger and bigger. "No! Not that girl!" "Just what did she say to him?"  
  
Zelda sighed partly in relief, and thought about what Navi had told her. Sheik...wasn't he the white-hair boy in her music class? He was quite irritating, but still she could understand how a person like Malon could have wanted to help him. Still, just what had she said to someone like Ganon? From what she heard, Ganon was the person everyone was genuinely afraid of. How could Malon had....Zelda frowned to herself at the lie that Navi was telling about a favor.  
  
She pushed the door to the locker room open, and saw Malon covered in blood.  
  
***  
  
Link pushed his way through the halls, blood pounding through his ears. The rumors...they had been about Sheik nearly killed. He barged in between two hockey jocks, skidding across the hall before he broke back into a run. That was when he heard a loud scream. It was coming form the girls' locker room.  
  
"Oh my gods, someone help, please!"  
  
That voice, he recognized it. Without another thought, he pushed through the door and saw Zelda sobbing on the floor. Across from her, was the red head with blood running across her face staining her clothes. "Holy shit," he cursed and knelt next to Zelda. "I-I just went inside an-and she...." Zelda's voice broke.  
  
Link stared at her face. There were no tears on her face, she was biting them back with her lip. But he could see that she was shaking. He reached over impulsively and touched her hand.  
  
The door opened and the girl's coach Impa stood with a crowd of girls screaming when they saw Malon. Impa saw Zelda and Link and immediately grabbed Zelda away from him and kept her within the shrieking girls. "Quiet, every one of you!" the coach demanded harshly, then turned cold eyes at Link. "You!" she shouted, "Get out of here! You'll be expelled for this, I'll be sure!" "Coach," Zelda tried to explain, "He didn't do it."  
  
But Link brushed past her. He felt her breath start to say something, but it caught in her throat. Link slowed his steps when he heard Impa's voice say in relief, "It's alright. She's just shocked." He scoffed to himself and continued to run towards the nurse's office. The nurse Cremia was startled when she saw Link push through the door.  
  
"Sir," she started, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait after this patient, he's badly injured." "How is he?" he asked abruptly. Nurse Cremia shook her head, and looked at the cot surrounded by a curtain. "He's terribly wounded, but he got here just in time." Link nodded and went towards the cot. "Sir!" the nurse exclaimed, "You mustn't, he's extremely weak!"  
  
"L....Link," a feeble voice emitted from the cot, "Let him...come." The nurse surrendered, and Link pulled the curtains away in haste. Sheik's face was covered in salve and bandages as he tried to smile at Link. "Hey...dirty bastard," he joked, "didn't get me flowers ... or even ...a lousy box of candy." Link smiled lightly at his tease, but he couldn't help but clench his fist.  
  
"Did Ganon do this to you?" he asked. Sheik blinked his eyes slowly and muttered, "..esss..." Link's anger boiled when he felt Sheik's finger on his hand. "Don't....try anything stupid," Sheik whispered, "It's not that you're not strong enough....Ganon, he plays dirty, the cheap ass." "I can't just-"  
  
He was interrupted by the office door being shoved open. Nurse Cremia's voice was in hysterics while two people, clearly females, were dragging someone in. Link drew the curtain around them and crouched low. He saw feet scrambling towards the cot next to them, and heard a body being laid down. "Gods," the nurse said, "how did she get like this?" Zelda's voice answered, "Please, just heal her first and I'm sure she'll tell us everything later!" "Yes, yes of course," Cremia replied.  
  
"I have to get back," Impa's voice said, "Do you want to stay with her?" Zelda replied frantically, "Yes! Please, coach, I'll make up for class!" There was slight movement and Impa retorted, "It's alright. Just try and join our track team, I never saw legs move like that." With that, she left.  
  
"Malon..." Sheik's voice murmured, "Is she...?" Link ushered him to be quiet when Cremia returned with supplies. "She's just in shock," the nurse assured Zelda, "She's still breathing, but she's not responding to anything. Try talking to her." "Malon?" Zelda's soft voice crooned, "Malon, can you hear me?"  
  
A very soft mutter came from the cot. Zelda sighed happily and continued, "Listen, you're going to be alright, k? After that, I'll get you ten bowls of that chocolate mousse you want from lunch!" Malon's voice seemed to vibrate in a chuckle while Cremia hustled to clean her wounds. "I've been hearing really cool things about you," Zelda said, "You helped Sheik from Ganon and-" There was suddenly a loud series of cries from Malon's bed.  
  
"Calm her down or she'll open her wounds more!" Cremia demanded. Link craned his neck to look at the scene, and from behind him he hear Sheik gasp. Malon's delirium caused her to shake the bed while Zelda tried to calm her with words and holding her down. Then, after several moments, she had stopped.  
  
Link concentrated to hear. There was a sound, but it was so silent. It was before he realized that Zelda was singing. Some song he never heard of, probably made up or very old, but her voice was coaxing and warm that he could sense the peace settling over them and the room. Cremia's busywork continued while Zelda kept singing. Sheik began to hum a little, and Link smiled a bit to himself.  
  
Link heard Malon sigh, as well as Cremia. "She'll be fine now," the nurse said to her, "Now she needs her rest and maybe some food later." "Do you think she'll tell us what happened?" Zelda asked. Cremia paused. "She may," she answered, "but I doubt that she would want to reach back into that memory." Cremia's feet shuffled and she called as she walked away, "I'll leave you two alone for a while. In case she needs anything, I'll be in my office." Link listened while the footsteps went away, and the sound of a door closed.  
  
It was then that he pulled away the curtain. Zelda gasped and saw him kneeling on the ground next to Sheik's cot. "What are you doing here?" she asked nervously. Sheik's voice answered, "Hey..New Girl." Link smiled and turned to his friend. "Yo," he said, "go to sleep. Just shut up for a while." Sheik attempted a grin. "Have you no..respect for the dead?" he joked.  
  
Link scoffed and playfully ruffled Sheik's pale hair. He passed by Zelda as he headed towards the exit and whispered in her ear, "Forget about it." She gasped startled and stared as he opened the door. Then he went out into the halls. His best friend, then a friend of Zelda's who had done nothing wrong. Ganon was going to pay.  
  
***  
  
Nabooru ignored the suggestions her peers were trying to make for a winter dance. Her mind was cluttered with their own thoughts. The rumors about Sheik and now about Malon..she clutched painfully to the edge of her desk. Not Malon, that couldn't be true. Ganon would never..she had never known for him to be so cruel.  
  
"So anyway, we were all thinking that it'll be great if we based it on a Hollywood theme, or maybe- ooh, ooh! I know, Candyland!! So, what do you think?" "Huh?" Nabooru snapped out of her trance. The girl looked at her strangely. "You okay, Nabooru?" she asked, "Anything wrong?" "Oh, no," she lied, "I think a dance in the winter would sound great." "Awesome!" the girl said happily, "I'll collect ideas for the themes."  
  
Nabooru nodded absent-mindedly as the girl left to other members. She buried her head in her arms and felt hot tears leak out of her eyes. 'Ganon..' she thought, 'you promised me..'  
  
  
  
~ Ah..end of chapt. 3. Well, not really. I just thought I should keep each chapter around seven or so pages. What? It's only about five? Opps..._ EEK!!! *chibitized elfboylover is being chased by a mob carrying pitchforks. Jeez, authors get really harassed here. ^.^ I'll make up for the two pages by adding more stuff in the next one, I swear!! Review if you want to read that one!!  
  
~~  
  
Big thanks to ZeLink! for your review!! *Applause in background 


	4. WARNING! CHAPTER FOUR IS WHAT MADE THIS ...

Zelda smoothed out Malon's red bangs from her forehead, the girl sleeping quietly in the cot. She looked sadly at her still form..she was like a large marble doll laying there in the sheets. Her childlike innocence and joy frozen in a moment and kept in a solid form. Zelda was sure of Cremia's medical skills to make the physical scars go away, but the mental ones would stay deep and embedded in her friend's mind.  
  
'Forget about it,' Link's voice suddenly reached out from the corners of her mind. Zelda frowned and laid back in her chair. He had said to forget about it..about what? She sat thinking and shifted around uncomfortably, and realized that her hair tier was still in her pocket. Zelda slowly took it out, admiring the colors of gold, blue, red and green that clustered in a intricate design if a flower.  
  
Then she ran her fingers across the beads of the stitching her mother had carefully placed into the tier. Her mind suddenly came to realization. Had Link wanted her to forget about the favor he had done? He returned it to her..so now she was supposed to forget all about it and acted like she never met him. Anything to save him the humiliation of helping out the New Girl, anything to maintain that reputation. Anything, just stay away from him and "Forget about it." A strange pang was slowly culminating in her chest.  
  
Malon's voice suddenly shuddered into what seemed like a gasp. Zelda snapped from her thoughts and placed a warm hand over the clammy forehead. The gasp lowered to low muttering, occasionally she was twisting and turning. Then, she slowed and stopped. Zelda patted Malon's forehead comfortingly, but she was filled with anger. Malon had been threatened and the trauma was still haunting her. It was a cold-blooded act, and whoever had done this to her should burn in hell.  
  
Zelda immediately stood from her chair and walked out of the door. Inexorable hate and rage was coursing through her, poisoning every vein towards vengeance. She knew who it was now, and he was going to suffer in every way she knew how. After ten minutes of searching, she found him, and felt strong arms grip around her shoulders.  
  
***  
  
"You stupid bitch! I told you to forget about it!" Zelda stopped struggling when Link's voice yelled in her ear. He let her go and she looked at him angrily, where there was a new bruise on his face. "What," she said coldly, "Forget about that? About him?" She pointed down the hall, where Ganon and his friends had already left down to the other end. Link saw this and pulled Zelda from chasing after them.  
  
"Fucking little whore!" he cursed, "You want to get end up like your friend?! Besides, it wasn't Ganon!" Zelda finally stopped and faced Link. "What do you mean?" she said, shocked. "Yo, shut the fuck up!" Link answered and shoved her angrily, "That's right, you ugly bitch, so get your ass out of my face!"  
  
Link turned and went down the hall and snuck up behind two girls chatting to each other. Zelda watched from a distance as he went over and pinched their rears, letting out shrieks of delight and chuckles from Link. The one to his left had large breasts and she wore the tightest and most sluttiest clothing Zelda had ever seen. She jumped, literally, over Link and wrapped her legs around him while the two of them engaged in a lip-lock in the middle of the hall. Zelda gazed from the corner while Link's hands slid slowly from the girl's back and reached under her blouse, the two of them writhing in moans.  
  
Zelda turned away, utterly sickened to her stomach. She walked around the corner and back to the nurse's office, but a numbness was taking over her throat. Strange. Maybe she was sick or something. Nurse Cremia should give her a check up then, she thought absent-mindedly.  
  
***  
  
It was amazing. After the bowls of chocolate mousse, Malon was screaming that she had practice to attend. "I'll get kicked out of my squad! And I missed Gym, Coach Impa must be pissed at me!" "Malon," Cremia tried desperately, but to no avail. Zelda had reentered the room, and Cremia said frantically, "Zelda! Would you please keep Malon bus- uh, company?" Zelda nodded, and Malon stretched her arms out eagerly for a hug.  
  
"Hey!" she said brightly as Zelda smiled just lightly and returned the hug. She sat down on the chair and Malon puffed up the pillows then sat up against them. "So," she began excitedly, "Met any hot guys? How was the rest of class? Did you run into any trouble?" Zelda glanced at her and answered, "No, not many. I had to miss English because Professor Din stopped me in the hall. I have a lot of homework now."  
  
Malon looked at her skeptically. Zelda's eyes were staring emptily at the cot, and she had a blank look on her while she said everything. 'What's wrong with her?' she thought worriedly. She thought Zelda would be ecstatic now that she was all better, not to sound brattish, but she would have at least said something like, "Oh I've missed you! I got more mousse.." After what had happened..she shuddered to herself. Zelda would have at least said something by now.  
  
"So..um," she said uncomfortably, looking at Zelda's uninterested face. There was something definitely wrong with her, and if she pried lightly enough she'll know without hurting her. 'Be light, yet concerned,' she told herself, 'Not too light, but not too harsh.' "Hey," she said with a smile, "Let's have a girl talk! But," she dropped her voice to a whisper and muttered in Zelda's ear, "Talk really softly. Mr. Fatass is right next to us."  
  
Sheik snorted intentionally as he twisted in his sheets and muttered sleepily from behind the curtains, "No..no, get away..ugly bitches..coming for me, no.." Malon wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at him and looked at Zelda with a giggle. Her friend smiled a little, but there was a gleam in her eye this time. Malon smiled to herself, she'll make sure that Zelda was herself again by the end of her visit.  
  
***  
  
"No way!" Zelda exclaimed, "You went skinny dipping when you were seven?!" "SHH!" Malon hushed her and glanced at Sheik's cot, whose snores seemed to shake a bit and coughed. The red head looked at Zelda deviously and whispered, "Well, it wasn't like there was anyone there with me. And what the hell, I was seven. I didn't get my boobs yet!"  
  
This time Sheik's snoring erupted in choked intervals as he tried to stifle unstoppable fits of laughter. His voice was suddenly muffled as he stuffed his head in his pillow and let it out. "Mahhahahah!!!" he cried out. Malon and Zelda giggled hysterically when Nurse Cremia came in. "Well," she said, "I'm happy that everyone is feeling better. Malon, if you really want to, you can return to your dorm. But I have all your professors' permissions to let you stay in there for tomorrow to get your strength back." "Yes!" Malon shouted in triumph.  
  
"Oh," Cremia added and reached for a manila envelope from her desk and handed it to Malon, "Your professors have also given you the makeup and tomorrow's work so you can be back in class prepared." "So close.." Malon said sadly and took the thick envelope. "In that case," Cremia said, "I'll see you girls sometime." Zelda stood up and Malon stepped out of the cot. "Ugh," she said as she looked at herself over, "I'm just glad this was my Gym uniform."  
  
The two of them walked out of the nurse's office and said goodbye to Cremia. "Later, you flat-chested freak!" Sheik called out from the cot. Malon glared at the curtains evilly as the door closed behind them. "I could seriously kill him," she said maliciously. "That's strange from the one who helped him out," Zelda said humorously, "Or maybe- gasp! Ooh..Malon!" "What?" the redhead retorted, "What? Spill it out, come on!"  
  
Zelda continued to play silent and laughed while they left the school from the exit. Malon grabbed after the blonde's hair giggling as she threatened to pull it out. "Hey," she said afterwards, "Just what dorm room are you in?" Zelda shrugged and pulled out her schedule. "Let's see.." she examined it with Malon looking over her shoulder, "Over here. 'D-14'." "Ohmigods," Malon gasped, "You're with Vicky! That tramp?!!"  
  
"Wow," Zelda said at Malon's fuming face, "Is my dorm buddy that bad?" Malon snatched the schedule from her hand, examining it and sighed. "No," she said finally and rolled her eyes, "She's fucking worse, or vice versa. Literally." "You mean she.." Malon nodded slowly, but shrugged. "Well," she said soothingly, "It's really not that bad. My room's right down the hall, it's fine if you want to come over. Besides, that whore spends so much time in the guy dormitories, you'd have the whole place practically to yourself!"  
  
"Isn't that not allowed?" Zelda asked, "I mean, girls going to the guy dorms and the other way around?" Malon nodded briskly and answered, "Well, it's not like that couldn't be helped. They do have some teachers looking for anyone trying to do that, but it's useless. Anyways, if you keep your door locked it's the surest way of keeping out any midnight Romeos around."  
  
Zelda nodded as they crossed the walkway through the school and to the dorms. It was quite beautiful, with plants growing to the side of the marble steps and birds singing happily in the late afternoon. The school must have hired a professional gardener to arrange the trees and flowers just the way they were. Autumn turned the leaves into a canvas of bright orange, red, yellow, and crisp brown. Large trees shaded and played soft designs of shadows across the ground, dappled with light. The sweet scent of flowers was light and its fragrance was alluring, and as they went further the trickling of water could be heard. Zelda followed its source to be a small brook running to the side, where earlier the plants kept it hidden. A small gap separated the trees and flowers, and Malon pointed for them to cross the bridge over the brook.  
  
"What were you saying about Ms. Din again?" she asked her. "Hm?" Zelda said, oblivious in the surroundings. "Ms. Din," Malon repeated, "You said she stopped you in the halls and out of English. What's up with that?" "Oh," Zelda answered, "Well, she wanted me to be in the play. I told her that I didn't want to, but she demanded that I join." "You should!" Malon said supportively, "You have the most wonderful voice! You've got to audition!" "But," Zelda objected, "I'm not even in that class! She saw me walking down the hall humming and she stalked me to English!"  
  
Malon nodded and replied, "Oh yeah, that's Ms. Din all right. She's the oldest, you know, of all her sisters, and she's the really demanding one. She's really cool, though, but the lady's got a hell of a temper. You must have made quite an impression to make her personally stalk you." "Well I don't feel so special," Zelda said bitterly, "Because of her I have extra homework! And Professor Tingle's not light either." "Ooh," Malon shuddered and stated, "Advanced Geography. Ugh, about as bad as your Pathway to Business with Professor Kotake. Why did you take those two things anyway?"  
  
Zelda sighed and looked at the sky. "My Dad wanted me to," she said softly, "He wants me to be a business manager, or maybe even own one like he did." "What's geography got to do with it?" "In case that business included agriculture." Malon made a low whistle, and they pushed open the doors of the girl's dorm. "We'll take the elevator," she said to Zelda and pressed the up arrow. They waited until one of the two doors slid open, and they stepped into the elevator, and Malon pushed the "4" button.  
  
There was music in the elevator, and unlike the draining tunes of some cheap diner, the song was light and playful. Zelda could imagine fairies and enchanted forests, when she turned and saw that Malon was also enjoying the melody. "What's that music?" she asked her. Malon turned to her humming and replied, "Kokiri Suite, Movement 3. It's really famous here," she said to Zelda's astonished expression, "It's also very old. No one really knows who wrote it or how old it is, it's been redone over and over again but the melody's still the same."  
  
Zelda nodded and continued to enjoy the tune. The elevator stopped before she wanted it to, and they stepped out. She stared at the hall, impressed. At each end were large windows pulled back by white curtains, and beautifully designed lamps hung high along the crimson walls. The floor was covered with a red carpet trimmed with gold, and elaborate chairs with red cushions where arranged next to vases, plants, or large portraits of the teachers and school founders. Deku Academy was pretty damn rich. "This way," Malon directed her, ignoring the tapestries and setup and easing through the halls with familiarity. Zelda followed her, glancing to each side to look at names of the portraits.  
  
"Felix Zora: 1893-1960. A major contributor to school funds, tragically died from overeating." She didn't get to read more when Malon dragged her to another hall to the right, and stopped. Zelda looked up and saw "D-09". "My room's 'D-14'," she said to Malon, who looked hurt. "I know that," she sniffed, "I just thought you'd like to meet my roommate and see what room I'm in. A teacher should have already brought in your stuff for you, so what's the hurry?" She grinned and pointed to a room a few doors down to their left. "That's 'D-14'," she said, "But come in, I want to show you around."  
  
Zelda watched as Malon scanned a card through a metal slot above the knob. The light turned green, and she twisted it open. Zelda's eyes widened in wonder as she stared into the room. It was two-floored, for there was a spiral staircase leading up and music could be heard from upstairs. The floor was made of wood, and carpets cushioned the furniture. There was a separate room leading to a small kitchen and another to a powder room. A large sofa laid to the side of a balcony, which had a view of the school's back garden they hadn't been through. A table was next to the sofa, arranged with four chairs, and was cluttered with textbooks and some cups.  
  
"Saria! I'm home!" Malon said in a mockingly tone of a husband to wife. There was some sort of commotion upstairs, and feet seemed to skid across the wooden floor. Malon looked at Zelda and at upstairs uncertainly. "Saria? Hello?" There was some low conversing under the music, and Malon threw up her hands and marched up the steps. "Saria! You had better not be cheating on me again!" she joked, "You hear me? Who is it this time?" "Uh," a young male voice said shyly as Malon and Zelda climbed up, "Hey, Malon. Sorry about that.."  
  
Malon's face split with a grin. "Mido!" she said happily at a brown-hair boy sitting on a chair close to a green-hair girl on the bed. "Nice to see you!" Malon turned to the green-hair girl and said sternly, "Of course, we'll have to talk about our relationship after this, Sarry." "Ugh, I'm tired of you!" Saria said and threw a pillow at her. Soon the two of them engaged in a pillow fight when Saria saw Zelda. "Humph!" she retorted, "You accuse me of cheating on you, and you bring a woman home! How dare you!" "But pumpkin pie, I can explain.."  
  
That did it. All four of them burst into laughter. When Malon had finished doubling over and Saria had receded from pounding her pillow, Malon took Zelda over. "Guys," she said, "this is Zelda. She's new here, and I've been showing her around. Zelda, this here is Saria. We're room-mates, and she's just the smartest kid in our grade." "Am not!" Saria objected. "Oh yeah," Malon scoffed, "You got to skip a grade by sleeping with the principle!"  
  
Saria threw the pillow at her face, her bright green eyes nearly covered by strands of short, green hair. Malon laughed and introduced Zelda to Mido. "Mido's been one of our friends since 9th grade," she said to her as they shook hands formally, "He and Saria are like this." She crossed her fingers, resulting in the other pillow being thrown to her face. Mido blushed and grinned to himself, his brown eyes twinkling under the slightly parted mass of chocolate brown hair.  
  
Zelda thought that Saria and Mido were a strange yet eloquent couple, now that she imagined it. Mido turned out to be quite a conversationalist, very accepting and convincing, and he was an editor in the school journal. He was slightly short compared to her, but then Zelda was a tall girl. His appearance was a bit weak, but the strength he proved when he spoke was absolute. Saria was cheerful like Malon, but a bit calmer when she had a chance to talk to her. She was very mature, and very gentle and kind. Her form was small but firm, and she sported a dark green headband in her green hair. Zelda wondered if that was her natural color or if she had dyed it. Yep, they were either really good friends or just very compatible.  
  
They spent a half an hour talking, Saria and Mido going over the events that happened to Malon as little as they possibly could. A dark look crossed the red head's face every time she seemed to think about it, and Zelda looked at her with pity. Whoever the guilty one was, they had taken something sharp and slashed Malon's body. Not deep to be fatal, but a bright scar was healing quick on one of her cheeks, and, covered by the shirt and jeans Malon had changed into, marks were over her arms and legs. Link had said Ganon wasn't the one who had done it to her. Zelda brushed it away. Suddenly the thought of Link wasn't exactly appeasing at the moment.  
  
"So," Saria said after a uneasy silence of Malon's experience, "Zelda, how do you like our school? I heard Ms. Din wants you in the play." "Oh," she answered, "Are you in it?" Saria shook her head briskly. "Nuh uh," she said with a look of relief, "Too much attention for me! I'm writing some of the music." "Saria's our school's virtuoso," Mido told her. Saria slapped him playfully on the arm. Malon "ooh"ed and received a slap across the shoulder.  
  
They laughed and Malon turned to Zelda. "You have to get a part," she said and added with a wrinkled frown, "I'd hate to see Ruto flapping around the school singing her fucking ass off." "Tell me about it," Saria said, rolling her eyes, "Auditions hasn't even started and she comes up to me and said, 'Hey, Saria. Make sure my solo doesn't go over a high A, or I'll have to cancel it from the play.' Ooh, that damn hussy!" Mido chuckled, "She asked me if I could include two pages in the next issue of the journal dedicated to the actors in the play. Oh, yes, make it two and a half, since all the other names can't fit in less than a half a page."  
  
Zelda recalled the girl in her music class, and understood what they were saying. Of course, that Ruto. "Plus, she has this obsession for Link," Malon added. Zelda turned to her. "Really?" she asked a bit too loudly, "How come?" "How come?" Malon repeated, "Well, because he's hot, not to offend any other males in this room. She's had an obsession for him since K-grade. If she gets the lead role, she's gonna smack it into everyone's face and hope Link notices. Fuh, unless she can sprout two D-cups by the time of the play there's no way he's going to do that."  
  
Mido had a scowl on his face. "Screw Link," he said hotly, "I wish he never came to the academy! His parents are so wealthy and giving their son the best there is, and he's throwing it back into their faces by playing around and harassing the students and teachers." Saria patted his back. "S'alright," she said, "I'll help you pay for the textbooks." She turned to Malon's and Zelda's bewildered faces, "Link and one of his friends tore up some of the school's library books this morning. Mido was trying to help the librarian Koume when they bumped into him on the stairs." "That dirty bastard!" Malon yelled angrily, "He doesn't care about anything!"  
  
"Why don't they just kick him out?" Zelda asked her. "Well," Malon replied, "A major part of the school's funds come directly from the parents. Not a lot of kids get in here with scholarships, so the money they get is a lot. Not to mention that Link's parents are really rich, like some of the other kids in school, so they're afraid to lose that fund. What can you do?" She shrugged and they went on about other topics. Zelda talked frequently, but she couldn't understand it. The way everyone seemed to describe him couldn't be entirely true. Again there was the way he had spoken to her when they stood in the hallway before class, but it was immediately replaced by the last time she had seen him. Zelda frowned bitterly. Then again, Link was exactly like that.  
  
***  
  
Vicky held on to Link's hand as they walked through the school's back garden. She shivered lightly in her tube top against the autumn cold, but there were simple ways for them to warm up.. The lights along the pathway lit in soft glows, and they had gone through the hedge maze to the illuminating water fountain surrounded by benches and a soft carpet of grass. It was nearly ten o'clock, and she had asked to sleepover but he declined.  
  
"My room-mate's in early," he said to her after they went out for pizza, "He's gonna' keep us up all night." Vicky slipped her arm over his neck and licked him. "We stay up all the time," she said and he laughed just a little. She frowned at him, and he seemed to avoid the look. It was like that when they were out, no matter what tricks she knew how to play he didn't seem aroused.  
  
'Oh well,' she thought to herself, 'He must be wiped from that fight with Ganon. Though he shouldn't refuse if I offered him something less active for him..' Instinctively she played her fingers slowly down to his pants. Link groaned a bit as she teased him through the fabric of his pants, and let her slowly unzip it. Vicky bent down and kneeled while she pulled over the last covering to what she was looking for.  
  
Link moaned while she brought out her tongue and ran it along inside her mouth. After a while it became stiff, and Vicky grinned to herself. He brought her down to the ground and she squealed in delight. She began to gasp in pure excitement as he kissed her neck and pulled down her tube top to nibble on what was underneath. Vicky clasped her legs around Link's waist, and moved her hips invitingly to what lay between his legs. Link groaned as he let his hands form around the roundness of her chest, sucking on the one side as he played around with the other.  
  
Vicky moaned and gasped as they made out on the grass, oblivious to what was on Link's mind. He kept imagining those bright blue-violet eyes, the wavy long blonde hair..  
  
***  
  
After an hour, Link took Vicky back to her room. "Good night," he tickled her ear with the words. Vicky giggled and wrapped her arms around him. "I can't sleep without you," she said enticingly. "Mm," Link said and ran kisses down her neck, "Some other time." Vicky moaned as he grabbed from underneath a slightly altered tube top. She laughed as he backed her against the wall and reached further down.  
  
Vicky let her hands slide and moved her hips against him. She arched her back when he played with an exposed side of her chest and clung to him. They made out for another ten minutes before Link zipped his pants and held a bit ruffled but very happy Vicky in his arms. "Good night," she whispered in his ear. He chuckled and headed down the hall. Vicky turned to the door, then paused. "Ooh, Link," she crooned after him, "I'm not sure if I can find my card." "I thought you had it with you," he said exasperatedly and walked back. Vicky let a half smile when he approached. "I did," she replied and pulled at her strapless bra from underneath her tube top that was nearly off. "But," she looked at him suggestively, "I think I lost it sometime when we were out."  
  
Link smiled at her and reached in. Vicky breathed heavily while he groped around one side, and moved closer while he searched the other. "Found it," he said and pulled out a room card from the bra. He held it in front of her with two fingers, and she took it from him. "Thanks," she said and kissed his neck. Link smiled, but didn't move. He watched Vicky open the door to D- 14, then wink at him before she closed the door.  
  
He sighed to himself tiredly and walked down the hall to the elevator. One of the room doors opened on the other side, and someone stepped out saying their good byes. The door closed, and a blonde headed towards him. Zelda.  
  
Link kept his gaze past her and glanced interested at some of the paintings along the side. From the corner of his eye, he could tell that she had seen him. She looked back down the hall quickly and hoisted the book bag over her shoulder. Link walked down without any care and passed her. He caught the slight scent of her hair when they walked past each other, hearing the brush of her clothing over her skin as she walked.  
  
They kept walking, and Link turned over the corner. Zelda looked back, and, from around the corner of the wall, Link looked behind him as well.  
  
***  
  
That night had been chaotic. Zelda had unlocked the door, only to find Vicky standing in the middle of the room naked as she changed. "You little bitch, who do you think you are?!" Vicky's voice echoed in her mind. Zelda sighed and flipped on her side on the soft mattress. Even after she had explained as best as she could, Vicky stormed off saying she was going to stay over with a friend. 'Oh well,' Zelda thought and hugged her pillow, 'Malon was right about having it all to myself. At least for tonight.' But from what she had heard, Vicky wouldn't be sharing the same room for a while, even if they did have two separate mattresses.  
  
Zelda yawned and glanced at her clock, which gave off a soft blue light from the dials. It was the clock her father had given to her on her tenth birthday. It told that the current time was now 12:15 AM of November the sixteenth, Eastern time zone. Then after it was the times for all the different time zones existent in the continent, and, if she pressed the down arrow, continuously listed the times of all other countries to the specific second of a place called Riyadh somewhere in Saudi Arabia. It was equipped then with an alarm that linked to all the existent radio stations of all existent languages ever known. Daddy's gift for his little girl. Whoopee..  
  
She sighed and laid back in the soft pillows. One day in school, and too many things was rushing out at her. Was it always like this, or did everyone just wanted to scare the New Girl? Zelda smiled a bit and thought about her newfound friends. Some things don't need time, like friends and love.. She stopped on that train of thought and covered herself with the blankets.  
  
No, not love. That takes time. Absolutely, positively, for sure. Right..try and say anything you like, you're not going to "Forget about it" that easily. Watch me.. she quit playing mind games with herself and forced herself to go to sleep. Tomorrow, that will erase everything from today. This time, nothing objected.  
  
***  
  
Link lay on his bed while Steve lightly snored downstairs from the desk. The light of the computer eerily glowed, and played in a soft dim light across the wall. Link stared at it as he crossed his arms over his head and fell against it. Damn, he couldn't sleep. It was hard without someone else being there, but somehow he didn't feel the need for it.  
  
He tossed and turned for some time, wondering idly how Sheik was doing and when he'd be back with the guys. A smile formed over his lips at the thought of how they had first met. Back in first grade, wasn't it? Link laughed at the memory and let it play over his mind.  
  
A small, young version of himself was walking down the hall after sneaking out from class. Soon, the shouts of an angry teacher shouted his name from the other end, and the Young Link ran through twisted corridors. The teacher lunged after him, shouting inaudible curses as she went after him in her large girth. Young Link turned around the corner, where "Ah HA!" His teacher grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him in the air.  
  
"You won't be getting away now, Link," she said with a hungry look on her face. Young Link kicked and screamed, then sank his sharp baby teeth on her hand. "OW! You little bastard!" She dropped Young Link, who went off in a mad sprint. When he ran for about five minutes, he paused, gasping for air and listened for the sound of his teacher.  
  
Young Link turned around, and was walking slowly backwards, each step cautious and silent as he looked for signs of footsteps approaching. His back foot touched something, and he stood up. Now his back touched something. Slowly, and terrified, he turned to see what was behind him.  
  
Amber red eyes peered back at him, and Young Link just about gasped in surprise. "Shh!" it said and clamped a hand over his mouth. The other hand was clutching to a fistful of Rupees. The thing was a white-hair boy, and he was looking from side to side as if he was also being chased. "I'll hang you by your shorts, you booger-faced freak!" said the voice of Young Ganon. "Oh darn!" said the boy, and he dragged himself and Young Link down the hall with him.  
  
"Hey!" Young Link retorted and pulled away, "Why are you getting me into this? Man, that guy's got no problems with me!" "You want to let your fly open for everyone to look at?!" said the boy. He looked back and saw Young Ganon, who was soon followed by someone else. "Shoot!" Young Link said at the sight of his teacher and the two of them ran down the hall while the other two chased after them.  
  
"You're facing ten years of detention!" "I'll cook your brains if you had any!" The boy looked back, panting, "Won't they ever stop?!" Young Link looked around the blank halls and spied a doorknob from around the corner. "This way!" he directed and pulled the boy into the door, then locked it quietly. He and the boy kneeled on the ground and pressed their ears against the door. The threats were getting louder, and they heard shouting and feet pass by them and steadily grow softer until it was nothing.  
  
They looked at each other and gave each other fives. "Yea-ah!" they cheered. "So," Young Link said as they stood up, "What's your name?" "Sheik," the boy replied, "You?" "I'm Link." "Cool, Link," Young Sheik said and fingered through the cash in his hand, then handed Link a red rupee. "Fifty-fifty," he said, "for cool guys like us." "Yeah," Young Link agreed and nodded as he gave him another five, "Cools guys."  
  
They turned and saw a girl standing there with a look of pure horror, and then she screamed. Finally, the two boys looked at their surroundings. The white walls, the stalls, the mirrors and the sinks..this was the girl's bathroom.  
  
The two boys let out a bloodcurdling cry and scrambled out of the door.  
  
Link chuckled to himself. He couldn't wait for Sheik to be back. Maybe he'd be in Science tomorrow..that's weird. He hated Science. Link pondered the question sleepily as he dozed off..They were great friends, but was it really Sheik he wanted to see again so bad?  
  
***  
  
Professor Rauru looked forward to a fresh day of class. He was expecting a very good class this morning, now that Sheik was still healing off bruises. It wasn't that he really hated the boy..he showed some form of intellect. But life was easier on old bones if annoyances were put away, and Sheik was the one thing is his daily dosage of reality he never wanted to take.  
  
He stood next to the opened door and welcomed in students. A certain face caught his eye, and he smiled. "Zelda," he greeted her, "How are you this morning?" "Fine, professor," the blonde replied lightheartedly, "and I wish you just the same." He thanked her and she nodded politely. Professor Rauru was pleased with the new student, she showed great potential. From just the marks she received from her last school, she proved against all negativity and stereotypical views of blondes.  
  
When the bell had already rung, Professor Rauru waited for one more student. He saw Link down the hallway with a group of girls who were giggling at some of his antics. Rauru frowned and cleared his throat. "Link!" he shouted down the hall, "Class has begun whether you are aware of it or not!" Link blew a kiss to the girls and sauntered up to the professor. He and Rauru stared at each other for some time; then Link flicked his hand in a salute. "Yo," he said and entered the classroom.  
  
Rauru sighed and followed after him. If he had a Rupee for every time either of those two were caught late or skipping class he'd be looking at an early retirement. "Good morning everyone," he began, savoring the sight of the empty seat behind Link that was usually occupied by Sheik, "I hope you all finished your homework since I would be collecting them today." Everyone was occupied in taking out their assignment, and Link twiddled his thumbs on his desk and whistled innocently.  
  
"Mr. Link," Rauru said sternly, "Where is your homework?" "Hm?" Link looked at him blankly and answered quickly, "Oh yeah, some bitch ate it." "Yo, Link," one of the male students called out, "Are you talking about a dog or another girl?" Link feigned a hard look of concentration and answered, "Shit, you know it was kinda' dark and everything.." Laughter scattered lightly throughout the room. Zelda's expression matched Rauru's own as she looked coldly at him from the side. Link caught her glance and yelled sharply, "Yo, turn around! That's right, you fag." "Link!" Rauru warned him.  
  
Zelda turned briskly without a word, passing up her assignment with a fixed gaze towards the blackboard. Rauru collected the papers and smiled kindly at her, which she returned with a light tug of her cheeks. Polite, respectful, and..Rauru thought as he went through her paper: perfect. He assigned them a section review from the textbooks, watching Link snatch one from another student's desk.  
  
The professor sighed to himself. He was looking at two complete opposites sitting next to each other, as contrasting as light and dark. Was it even possible for two so different to show signs of fellowship, according to natural laws that stated opposites attract..Rauru chuckled to himself at the thought. He'd have better luck trying to grow hair on his bald head..  
  
  
  
~Chapter Four done, wah hoo!! It is now precisely, 1:00 AM, so I'll make this short. This fic is rated R, due to further scenes like the ones with Link and Vicky. I'm serious, if you're not allowed to read something this mature but "you do so anyway and then ask your parents with those big innocent eyes just what does this and that mean and what's that thing here" TRUST ME. YOUR PARENTS ARE TRYING TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE BIG, BAD, SCARY THINGS. I HAVE WARNED YOU, SO NOW DECIDE WHETHER YOU'LL LISTEN OR DECIDE NOT TO BECAUSE THIS AUTHOR IS COMPLETELY CRAZY..O.o *no comment on that. ^_^ Remember to R&R!!  
  
~~  
  
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS!!!! Responding to..: (drumroll)  
  
AlyssaS - Sniff, yes I know, I don't have enough reviews! Might as well give up writing.. lol!! I'm happy you really like it!!!  
  
Ayame - Aw shucks.. (shyly kicks the floor)  
  
Tushoyami - NO!! NOT THE DOGS! WAH!!! x_x Lol, I'll er- keep that in mind.. ^_~  
  
Moonrider - Thank you!! (takes out a handkerchief and blows into it)  
  
Togey - Lol!! If I didn't know who YOU really are, I would've thought that you were a certain annoying little brat I know.. ^.^ Thanx for reviewing old buddy, tell everyone back there to check it out for me!! 


	5. HALLELUJIAH, IT'S FIVE! Oo No comment, j...

DISCLAIMER: Before you get to read the next chappie of this fic, READ THE DISCLAIMERS FIRST!!! Uh..please? ~_~  
  
Disclaimer: I've gotten a few comments on the last chapter about the uh.. MATURITY stuff in it. Allow me to explain to all: *elfboylover puts on a large pair of glasses and takes out a pointer to columns on a blackboard ordered by letters:  
  
Disclaimer exhibit "A": First and foremost, this is an R rated fic, meant for those mature enough to read it.  
  
Disclaimer exhibit "B": Profanity is used, and suggestive courses of actions are also displayed through the flow of the plot.  
  
Disclaimer exhibit "C": I do not usually include these things in most of my stories, and the following reasons will see it fit for this specific fan fiction:  
  
Disclaimer exhibit "C-1": The use of these factors present the mood, environment, and overall development of the character.  
  
Disclaimer exhibit "C-2": Therefore, the content is meant solely in the purpose of literature and -  
  
*readers: "AW SHUT THE (BEEP!) UP!"  
  
EEP!! I'M SORRY, I'M SOOOORRRRRYY!!!!! *elfboylover being hit by very harmful objects. A truck sails through the air.. O.o don't know where that came from. ^_^  
  
Disclaimer (LAST ONE, I SWEAR!!): I uh.. am so happy that you all accept this very nicely *coughs, gets killed by a dog. Lol, go ahead and read already!!  
  
  
  
  
  
The negative part of Zelda's day was during Music, where Ruto seemed to have heard the incident of Professor Din stopping her in the halls. She stuck her nose up high in the air whenever Zelda was around or even mentioned, and nearly knocked Zelda unconscious this morning with a music folder. Other than that and a tense class in Science, where Link had not said anything else to her after the time he snapped back at her, things were turning out to be better.  
  
Classes have flowed smoothly, though the girl's locker room was given extra precautions. After a good round of volleyball inside the girl's gym, Zelda was ready for lunch. She checked a small map of the school, and found a green arrow directed to the cafeteria Malon had drawn for her. "You had better follow these routes!" she had said, "It's a bit crowded sometimes, but they're the best ways to get to class." Malon's directions had only worked too well, since Zelda had not seen Ganon or Link all day.  
  
Zelda sat on the locker bench in her jeans and turtleneck sweater, although the heat from after gym was sweltering. She knew that the moment the bell rang and they exited through the halls the air conditioning would be on full blast. There were just so many students in the hall that their body heat alone could suffocate everyone.  
  
When the last second of the bell rang, Zelda lifted her book bag and said good byes to some of the other girls on her way out. Far down the hall, where she was supposed to go down towards the cafeteria, was a large group of boys pouring out of the boy's gym. While most of them filtered to the cafeteria, two boys walking side by side were talking and went towards her direction.  
  
Zelda had not seen either of them before, mainly because she was excused from Gym yesterday. One of them was extremely tall and fairly handsome, with black hair and light eyes. He was well built, lean and muscled, and from the powerful shape of his legs he was a runner. His companion was about a half a head shorter, just taller than Zelda herself, and he was much stockier than the other. This one had a face that was pretty, in a masculine sort of way but in a sense pretty with the thick eyelashes and alluring grin. He ran his hand periodically through well-groomed hair, while his taller friend let his fall and wave naturally.  
  
She paid no more attention to them when they passed and the taller guy stopped her. "Hey," he said, "Aren't you the new student?" Zelda looked at him, nearly surprised by his voice. He sounded a lot like.. She ignored the thought and nodded at the boy. "How did you know?" Zelda asked him skeptically. "Impa's been going on about a new girl being on the track team," the boy replied with a handsome grin, "Coach Ingo's starting to get all the track members worked up." "Mikau," his friend interrupted, "No respect. Stop a girl in the hallway and not even ask who she is."  
  
Mikau laughed and gave his friend a light shove. "Shut up," he said to him and turned to Zelda, "Sorry. What's your name anyway?" "Zelda," she said and shook his hand. "Hey Zelda," Mikau answered good-naturedly, "Welcome to Deku Academy. I'm Mikau and this guy here's Kafei." "'This guy here' is gonna ask the babe out first if you don't," Kafei said with a wink towards Zelda. She laughed lightly at his sly manner, flicking her loose hair behind her shoulder.  
  
Mikau sighed and shrugged at Zelda. "That's it," he lamented, "I'm always the slower one." "We could double date," Zelda joked, "I have a friend you might be interested in." "Cool!" Kafei said with a brush through his dark hair, "That means you wanna go out?" Zelda smiled flirtatiously and thought, 'Why not? I'm always moving around I never had a real boyfriend, this is perfect.' "Sure," she answered and Kafei did a double jump.  
  
"Whoo hoo!" he yelled down the hall wildly, people stopping to grin at his antics. "So," he went back to Zelda and Mikau, "Care to give me your dorm number so I can call you?" "Sure," she answered, "The last four digits are 0-" "Wait," Kafei interrupted and nudged Mikau for something to write with. Mikau dug into his pockets and pulled out a pen, upon which Kafei handed to Zelda.  
  
She wrote the numbers down on his hand, and Kafei looked at it with relish. "Dude," he said to Mikau with a tone of pride, "I get hooked up with a pretty girl when you don't got one! Man, I should write this down in my life's achievement." Mikau scoffed and slapped his hand, upon which Kafei laughed and flashed the numbers on his palm. "I'll give you a call, babe!" Kafei yelled while he quickly backed away from Mikau and taunted him with his palm. "Bye, Zelda!" Mikau called back as he chased Kafei down the hall.  
  
Zelda waved to the two boys down the hall, then headed towards the cafeteria. This was spectacular, how everything was going on now. Her professors approved of her, she was making new friends, and now a couple of cute guys wanted to ask her out, whether they really meant it or not she couldn't give a damn right now. The best part right now was the fact that Link was going to be out of her mind for a very long time. Maybe even forever..  
  
***  
  
Link ignored everything the guys were talking about, since Sheik wasn't actually there to spice the topics up. He led them towards the cafeteria, flanked by his group by each side as they sometimes picked up a girl for a few moments or shoved some kid around like a pinball. He didn't care what the fuck they were fucking last night, but they seemed to cling on him like leeches. Link told Brian to shut up for the third time in a row, and each time he shrunk away and was given angry glares from the others.  
  
He pushed open the doors to the cafeteria and walked inside. The room was brightly lit by the outdoors, and the lights that ran along the low wall separating sections of tables were off. Tables were arranged neatly and had rows of cushioned seats that came from the low walls surrounding them. Miniature centerpieces were placed on each table, and large sliding windows allowed the scenic view of Lake Hylia from a distance. The serving tables were under categories of "Breakfast," "Lunch," "Dinner," "Beverages," and "Desserts." With the way everything was, one would think it was a rich cat's club.  
  
People were serving themselves from the large lunch table, and seemed to scatter around when Link and the guys appeared. One girl was unaware of the students distancing from where she was observing a dish of salmon, and one of the guys grabbed her by the shoulder. "Hey, bitch," he said as he spun her around, "You're blocking the way."  
  
Her distinguishable eyes peered back at them in defiance, and Link saw that, with her hair let casually down, Zelda looked somewhat different. Even in that white sweater, her slender form was obvious and her hair hugged the sides of her face where those features began to pound against his mind. "Yo," Brian said with a humorous tone, "It's the blonde who couldn't find the end of the hall!"  
  
"Oh look," Zelda answered, her eyes unmoving, "It's the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Still haven't gotten that brain yet, I see." A few of the guys chuckled at Brian, who was turning red in the face. Link was staring directly into her eyes, but she seemed to look blankly past him. "You better know just who you're talking to," one of the others said to her, "Got any idea who we are and who he is?" He pointed at Link, and the rest of them were nodding and catcalling.  
  
"He's the one little girls like you should run away screaming from," the guy continued, "He's the dude that do bitches and flipped the 'teaches. We're the kings of this school and he's the man. Got that? Cuz he's. Da. Man." Zelda stared at him with a strange look of disgust. "Uh..yeah," she said slowly, and jerked when someone caught her eye, "Saria!" Link watched as Zelda waved towards a green-hair girl and ran to her with excited chattering.  
  
She was out of sight with the girl in the midst of the crowd, and Link jabbed the guy's stomach. "Aw, man," the boy bent over and sputtered, "What'd you do that for?" "For sounding like a fucking idiot," Link said harshly and left him reeling over his stomach.  
  
***  
  
Sheik sighed and laid on his back singing to himself. "..don't like, my shit, cu-uz I was high when I wrote this so suck, my Liquid Dreams, I dream about a girl who's a mix of Destiny's Child, just a little touch of Madonna's wild style, with Janet Jackson's smile. Ooh a body like Santa Claus is coming, to town.." "Sheik," Nurse Cremia's voice sounded as she opened the door from her office, "Please, just relax and stop singing. You'll waste your energy."  
  
"Aw, come on doc," Sheik whined, "I've been cooped up here all day! Man, I can smell the fried chicken they got in the café, you gotta let me out!" "I'm sorry," Cremia replied, "but you have to stay in here at least until tomorrow. The bruises may not hurt when you're lying down but your muscles will respond painfully if they're being used. As for lunch, I'll have an aide bring it in." "Alright," Sheik called out, "Make sure to get me a side order of mashed potatoes and gravy, and I'll add some of that mac and cheese they got there, and for dessert I'd like-"  
  
"Sheik!" Cremia's voice shrieked, "Please, I'll get someone to bring you the food shortly! Until then, please settle down." Sheik whistled low as Cremia nearly slammed the door to her office shut. 'You'd think I was trying to hit on her or something,' he thought with a grin. With a deep sigh, he flipped to his side and ran his fingers through the white-blond hair.  
  
Sheik stared at himself through the small mirror propped up on the desk next to him. His hair, short and disheveled as always, fell in white strands around the frame of his face that was slightly narrowed to his chin. The eyes that stared into the mirror reflected back in its amber red hues, ones that had a slight orange sheen to them whenever the light glinted. Sheik winked at his reflection and clicked his tongue.  
  
"You hotty," he mimicked a high feminine voice and gave a catchy grin to the mirror. Laughing to himself, he flipped over to stare at the empty cot next to him. Malon and her friend were here yesterday, he remembered. Sheik wondered to himself if the rumors were true, and that Malon was the one who had kept him from being liquefied the other day. It would explain the red in his eyes when he tried to see who it was after the beating from Ganon.  
  
Still, what did she say to make that bastard walk away? Sheik frowned from the little tidbits Navi was sprouting around the school, that she had seen Malon and Ganon together the other night. Navi would say anything, and about 49% of everything she spread around was true. Not that he really cared, but he felt a bit better that not a lot of people believed Malon would do such a thing.  
  
'Heh,' he thought idly to himself, 'Cute 'lil Malon. Always full of surprises' He smiled to himself as he laid there with that thought, waiting for Cremia to finally pay attention to his grumbling stomach.  
  
***  
  
Steve Whitner made his way through the crowd to reach his Pathway to Business class, ignoring the people who seemed to be making comments about him and the looks he got from his suitcase. Everyone was loitering around in the hallways, never seeming to try and reach their destinations on time. Steve scoffed at them all, the disorganized and uncivilized society that was promising the world a bleak future with their barbaric customs. They were just like his dorm mate Link, who was the ultimate example of a crumbling future.  
  
He hustled quickly to Professor Kotake's room; smiling and nodding at the stern looking woman in the red ensemble she seem to always wear. She and her twin sister Koume were only distinguishable by the colors they strictly abided to. Koume was the librarian, always seen with a blue jewel or colors of blue on her clothing. Kotake was the other, the one with everything red. But both of their old faces and beady eyes were the same, both the same spitting nature and dislike to loud noises.  
  
Steve would never do anything to create trouble for his professors; it was a sin he would rather die than. He reached his seat in the front of the room, waiting impatiently for the rest of the students to hurry up and come so class could start at the precise moment. With a sigh of frustration, he opened the links to his briefcase and carefully took out a folder labeled "Pathway to Business."  
  
Intended to keep ahead of the professor, Steve clicked open the rings of the folder and delicately took out the three-page report he had done on last night's assignment. He simply found the topic fascinating, taking him into the early hours of the morning searching online for related subjects and information. Smirking, he felt that Professor Kotake would be quite pleased.  
  
Someone had entered the room, and now there were two students in the classroom. Steve frowned to himself, just who else beside himself would be in three minutes early? He looked up and saw the girl that had arrived to the academy just yesterday. She wore a haggard look as she came in, even though she smiled cheerily and greeted the professor politely at the door. Steve paid no attention to her as she went and sat in the third row behind him.  
  
When the rest of the class filed in, a total of twelve students, Professor Kotake muttered for them to bring up their assignments and begin to read from the textbook on balancing accounts. Steve presented his work proudly, while the rest of them shuffled around for their homework. 'They're nothing but lazy dopes,' he thought to himself, 'Ugh. I pity these low forms of human civilization.'  
  
The class busied themselves with the reading, while Steve breezed through the text. He had read this one already, and the next chapter as well. Sighing to himself in light boredom of having nothing mandatory to do, he went ahead and read the next chapters. The thought of the people who would be tomorrow's present..he shuddered at the premonition.  
  
***  
  
This must be freedom. Zelda plowed through the hallways towards her English class, haunted by the memory of business and Professor Tingle's red cheeks as he shrieked out names of rivers in the northern countries. After that, English was going to be simple. Professor Din stopped her again in the halls, taking seven minutes of her time to remind her of the drama auditions. Zelda made sure she had her make up work in hand to give to Professor Anju when she came in.  
  
She arrived through the door to see a slightly thin woman sitting on a desk in front of the room. The woman looked up, blue eyes peering through small spectacles and under dark red hair. "Zelda," she said kindly and stood to greet her with a handshake, "I'm glad to have finally met you. I was disappointed to not have seen you yesterday, Professor Din was quite-er, enthusiastic about your contribution to her play." "I'm sorry about that," Zelda answered, slightly embarrassed, "I've finished the work you've assigned, I hope its tardiness doesn't affect the grade."  
  
"Not at all," Professor Anju smiled and took the work from Zelda's hand. She motioned for Zelda to sit in a seat next to the window a few seats away from a boy she recognized. "Mikau," Zelda greeted him and placed her book bag next to her seat. Mikau glanced up from novel he was reading and smiled when he saw her. "Zelda," he said, "I didn't know you were in my English class." His voice, it sounded so much like.. "Neither did I," she answered and sat down, leaning over the next desk to speak to him.  
  
"It's too bad," Mikau sighed, "Kafei's been going on about how he was going to take you somewhere awesome for a date. Damn bastard's been flipping his palm at me everywhere we went." Zelda laughed and replied, "I don't really think he's serious about it." "Well," Mikau answered and grinned at her, "You never know. Besides, he's been bragging to the guys just how hot you are." She chuckled and leaned back to her chair when students began to fill in the seats between them.  
  
The bell rang and Professor Anju stood up from her desk. "To begin," she said in front of the class, "We have a new student here with us. Zelda, would you like to say anything?" She shook her head and answered no, uncomfortable at the people turning over to look at her. A couple of girls at the other corner of the room were craning to look at her, giggling among themselves while pointing.  
  
Zelda frowned at them. Was there something on her face? She instinctively ran her fingers through her hair, brushing past her face to survey it. Professor Anju was giving back the previous night's assignment checked over, and held a large pile of packets in her arm as she waited for everyone to distribute their work around. "I have permission from Professor Din to hand these out," she said pointedly towards the packets, "These are the scripts and plot of the play. We will be going through creative writing, and this seemed like a good example of the subject. However, she said only members of the play are allowed to take these, and the rest of you would just have to wait and settle on creative writing essays."  
  
A few groans dispensed throughout the room. "If you would rather spend hours after school helping out with the play," Professor Anju continued, "Then I'd be happy to-" She was interrupted by the sound of the door being swung open. Link stood inside the room with his hands dug into his pockets. "Got lost," he said plainly.  
  
Some people laughed, but Zelda turned her head away. Professor Anju sighed and answered exasperatedly, "Please be seated." Link strolled around the room, making rounds through the class and slapping hands and winking at girls. Zelda felt a slight brush of his hand as he passed by her, and slumped in the seat directly behind her.  
  
'Shit,' she cursed to herself and kept her eyes on the teacher. "To let you catch up with us," Professor Anju said to Link, "I was informing the class about our topic in creative writing." "Whatever," Link said and laid back in his chair. The professor frowned and turned to the rest of the class with a light smile. "On the subject about the play," she said, "I will be giving extra credit to anyone who will be assisting in it, either as a role or simply with management. Play contributors would be excused from writing the essays I have prepared."  
  
The class burst in loud cheers, some people clapping approvingly. Professor Anju smiled at them and held up a hand. "But," she warned, "if you are interested in this option, I must make you aware that each and every one must give in all the hours required after school. This is no easy task and would undoubtedly be time consuming and exhausting. I have made sure with Professor Din to keep in her surveillance for anyone who decides to cut practice early, even if that be just one. If I am notified of a name, then that name will be exempted from the play and be given with the full compiled lists of essays. Therefore, you are warned and given your options. I have a list up here for anyone who is interested in the play, sign ups are due by the end of next week so I suggest you decide on it for sure."  
  
One or two students arrived at the desk to write down their names, Zelda herself knowing that Professor Din had already made up her mind to force her into the auditions. Link didn't seem to pay any attention to what was going on, whistling nonchalantly and flirting with a few girls sitting close to him.  
  
Zelda received a packet from Professor Anju as she handed it out to those who had signed up, and looked over at the large list of cast. She heard from behind her a mockery of Hamlet ("To fuck, or not to fuck?") played by Link's voice in falsetto. The girls were laughing wildly at him until Professor Anju told them to pay attention. Zelda smiled a bit to herself as she heard Link sigh and heaved himself back upright on his desk.  
  
She ignored him for the rest of class, his voice continuously hinting towards a girl. He was such a jackass. Zelda looked up from her desk and stared out the window, to where the trees and the field were rolling in the expanse of orange and red. Autumn leaves were blowing gently with the wind, dancing in the air as they made their way to the ground. The river leading to Lake Hylia twined next to the field, sparkling clear under the afternoon sun. Zelda felt extremely calmed, and utterly inspired.  
  
Her hand reached for her sketchbook, and while the rest of the class was brainstorming on their first essays she began to etch the scene from the window. The pencil was guided masterfully by her hand, hinting and shading the sky on the paper. Light impressions of the field began to form, and she pictured the uneven curve of the brook running through the side. A willow was shaped and shadowed, its boughs drooping as its leaves billowed softly with a light breeze. Within several minutes, Zelda created a light but distinguishable version of the world on her sketchpad.  
  
She wrote bold words on the corner of the page, her slanted handwriting in elegant letters:  
  
" 'Dreamers have gone and placed the world away in false promises. I live only in sorrow of love and shattered dreams, that promises have become nothing to me. Only Nature upholds her promise of beauty, upon where dreams flow and brings the world new promises.' "  
  
Zelda finally realized that someone was reading the words from her sketchpad. She looked up and saw Link leaning over her shoulder, his face touching hers as he whispered into her ear. His lips brushed past her cheek as he leaned back into his chair, staring out the window and looking unaware. Zelda refrained herself from glancing back at him, feeling a delightful tremor subside from her body.  
  
She kept herself away from him, from the memory of that moment. For the voice murmuring in her ear was too soft, and the touch of his lips was too lasting on her cheek..  
  
***  
  
Malon sighed from boredom, staring at the last five questions of her math homework. She wished either Zelda or Saria could help her out with them, the entire day keeping her locked up in the room doing work. Punching a few numbers on her calculator, she busied herself with the answer. The clock on the wall said it was 3:40, twenty more minutes before school would be over for her friends. Maybe the only good part of the day was sleeping in for two hours instead of getting up at five thirty and leaving for class at six.  
  
She stretched and yawned, turning on the radio just a little louder and singing to a few of the songs as she went through the last few problems. 'Can't wait to move around again,' she thought. Then she buried her head in her pillow in a scream of fright. No, she didn't really want to go back. She was so afraid.. she pulled the covers of her bed closer and turned the music up louder. Her eyes were red from crying, underlined by the sleepless night of waking in terror. She didn't wake Saria to ask for comfort, she didn't want anyone to worry about her. What happened was her own fault, that she had to be so brain dead and do something dangerous.  
  
Malon looked at the clock again. It now read 3:47, and she turned back to her math homework. She had to forget about the incident. The shades to the balcony was pulled back, and late afternoon light lit the room with a calm, secure warmth. She felt safe, inside her bed, yet still so much afraid. Saria had better not stay after for something after school, she wanted someone here with her so badly.  
  
The rest of the time crept by slowly, and the beautiful sound of the school bell rang. Malon listened for the shouts of students exited the school. She felt a rush of relief after several minutes as feet scrambled up the stairs and the sound of the elevator moving up and down to bring schoolmates to their dorms. Smiling, Malon went downstairs, not caring that she was still in her PJs since the start of the day.  
  
She placed her head against the door, hearing the voices chattering grow louder and doors being opened. Soon she recognized the voices of girls, and waited by the door. "..swear to gods I've never had a bigger homework assignment," Saria's voice said as the sound of a card slid through the slot. Malon jumped at them as they came in. "HELLO!!"  
  
"Mally!" Nabooru stretched out her arms for a hug while Zelda and Saria crowded around in happy shouts. "Ohmigods, Malon," Zelda said excitedly, "You won't believe what happened to me today!" "I'm thinking about getting Professor Tingle exempted from school," Saria added with malice. "Malon, I'm so sorry!" Nabooru cried, "I wanted to see you so bad but I got held up by a stupid meeting about a dance and- oh I'm so happy to see you!"  
  
Malon held them all in a group hug, feeling warmth and joy spreading through her since a long time. Gods, she never, ever wanted to be alone without her friends. She finally broke away from the embrace, from the yummy desserts they sneaked for her while lecturing her for looking so frail without properly eating. They sat down on the sofa; Nabooru was fussing over Malon's condition.  
  
"I want you to have someone with you at all times," she said staring into her eyes, "I'll get one of the senior wrestlers to take you to classes, k?" Malon threw her hands up in the air with frustration, "I don't need a bodyguard!" Zelda shook her head and brushed Malon's hair from her forehead. "You need someone to make sure you don't get in trouble," she said, her tone an uncanny resemblance to Nabooru's.  
  
Saria pushed both of them away. "Don't scare her!" she said accusingly to them, "You're sounding like the Mofia's after her or something!" They receded for a while, and started to bring up different topics of discussion. After a while, Nabooru excused herself for an appointment, only after making sure Malon had an extra hug before she left the room. For the first time since she could recall, Malon felt totally at ease.  
  
***  
  
"So," Malon said when the three girls headed upstairs and sat on the beds, "Zelda, what's gotten you so excited?" She and Saria gave Zelda wicked stares as the blonde shifted uncomfortably. "Come on!" Saria urged, "Out with it!" When Zelda refused to talk, the girls began to pummel her with pillows. "Okay, O-K!" she sputtered through the sheets, laughing as they propped themselves up for the news.  
  
Zelda sighed and sat up on the bed, looking at each girl in the eye, enjoying the expressions on their faces. "A guy asked me for my number," she said, "And he wants to take me out." Malon let out a shriek as Saria jumped around asking who it was. Zelda grinned and answered, "I don't really know who he was. His friend stopped me in the hall and after a while, he asked me for my number." "Who was it, damnit?!" Saria yelled impatiently.  
  
Malon leaned over, all three girls keeping their faces close. "His name was Kafei," Zelda replied. A slow smile began to spread over their faces. "No way!" Malon said in awe. "Kafei?" Saria repeated, "Ooh, he's really cute!" "He said he was going to call you?" Malon asked. Zelda nodded, and the girls erupted in screams. "My gods, what are you doing here?!" Saria shouted, "Your phone could be ringing right now, and you're gonna make it seem like you don't want to talk to him!"  
  
They dragged the blonde downstairs and pulled her to her room. Zelda opened the door, and the three of them ran inside giggling frantically. Zelda looked around the room, and saw that Vicky had not been back. Malon and Saria stationed themselves next to the phone, and she chuckled at their overeager manner.  
  
"Oh, I wish he's hurry up!" Saria said, "You think we missed him?" "Exactly how is he like?" Zelda asked them curiously. Malon hugged a pillow to her chest as she leaned back on the sofa. "Well," she began, "we used to date. Long time ago, like the beginning of 9th grade or something. Broke up cause we didn't go out very often." "You mean make out very often," Saria said slyly and Malon shoved her playfully.  
  
She straightened and continued, "He's really nice, kind of wild though. He likes talking about himself a lot, about his wrestling and all that. He's like a player, but he can be really sweet sometimes. Of course, I'm not saying that he doesn't like you at all, it's just that he's good for a limited time." "You make him sound like some kind of coupon," Zelda joked. Malon smirked and answered, "Kind of. A coupon for fun, cause he really knows how to keep things interesting. That's what I liked about him, but somehow I couldn't see us happening past that."  
  
Just then, the phone rang. "ARGH, get it, GET IT!!" Saria yelled. Zelda picked up the receiver, hushing the mad giggles as she grinned and tried to sound calm. "Hello?" "Hey, is this Zelda?" a masculine voice said over the other end, Kafei's voice altered by the connection. "Yeah, it's me." "Oh hey, babe!" he said cheerily, "Listen, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out. You know, if I can take you out on a date, maybe even tonight."  
  
"That sounds great," Zelda said and beamed at the two hysterical girls, "what time do you want to pick me up?" "Maybe around seven, that alright?" "Sure." "All right! I'll pick you up, where's your dorm?" "I'm in D-14." "Okay..D-14. Got it. I'll see ya then!" "Bye." "Later, babe." She hung up the telephone.  
  
The screams of Malon and Saria erupted. "I can't believe he just asked you out just like that!" Saria said with a wide smile splitting across her face, "Ohmigods, when is he getting here?" "Around seven," Zelda answered. "Let us give you a make over!" Malon begged, "We'll pick your outfit and I'll get my kit!" "Ooh!" Saria remarked excitedly, "I'll let you borrow my blue outfit! No, the red and black one, blue's not as natural looking in this season."  
  
"Fine," Zelda said, "but I need some time to finish my homework." "All right," Malon replied reluctantly, "We'll be here at six. Be done by then!" "And let me curl your hair just a little bit at the ends," Saria called back as they made their way out the door, "Leave it down, but brush it before I get here!" Zelda said her good byes to them, and spun back to the room with a smile on her face.  
  
She was filled with excitement, at having Kafei here and preparing for their time together. Singing because she just felt happy, she pulled out a few science problems she didn't get the chance to finish during English. Her hand yanked out the folder, and felt something slip. Zelda picked up her sketchbook from the floor and began to place it back into her book bag when she stopped.  
  
The sketchpad was flipped to the last picture she had drawn, the one with the field and the words on the side of the page. She stared at it, feeling the light brush of his skin and the way he whispered those words so softly into her ear. A strange feeling grasped her throat, making her breaths shallow. Her mind was soon surrounded by the memory of his warmth, the enticing scent of him in that brief moment of his nearness. She reached and touched her cheek. The light caress of his lips resurfaced.  
  
Zelda snapped from the trance and briskly placed the sketchpad away. She wasn't going to let herself be one of those giggling dunces he had under his arm. She was going to go out with a nice and handsome young man, and no thoughts of him will plague her there.  
  
  
  
  
  
~ Yes folks, you have already read five chapters of this fic. As of now, things are starting to kick up! I know that I take up chapters to describe every second of the day, but that's only for now where everything's new and I'm still getting more characters. A lot more things are happening all at once, so if I want to put you all to sleep then I will! ^.~ J/k. Oh hey, if you like this fic, try reading my other one, "Death's Shroud." It's an adventure story, and comments are appreciated on that one!! Chapter six is coming up for those of you with the patience to read this far! Please R&R!!!  
  
*Muahaha!! Survey time!! Lol, ^.^ : Aside from the two main characters, who is your favorite RL character?  
  
Who's the funniest?  
  
Who deserves to rot in hell? (chants "RU-TO! RU-TO!!" ~_^)  
  
~~  
  
REPLIES!!! Lol, whether you like it or not, I'm gonna keep doing this!! ^.^  
  
MoonRider - *laughs very weakly.. Lol. I'm sorry you didn't like that very much!! Please reread disclaimers, I'm afraid I'd get very injured if I tried to say anymore here. ~.^  
  
Coolchick1124 - Yay! Thanks for the comment, I'm glad you also read Death's Shroud! *Oh yes, and I'll keep the mind about the psychotic cuccos dipping me in sweet and sour sauce. LOL!! ~.~  
  
Mags - Ah.. *runs the hell out of the room. Lol, I'm not so sure! And yes *sniff, our beloved hero is no more innocent. Is there a shred of justice left in this world?!! o.O Uh.. yeah.. ^_^ As to answer your question about what goes on later.. well, let's say that love can do strange things to people. O_O! ARGH, I SAID TOO MUCH!! Bad, BAD!! Lol..  
  
Namelesselfboy - Aw thanks! And yes, if people keep reviewing, I will write more chapters. Is ze bribe, yes? *readers: "THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO THINGS AROUND US!!!" elfboylover, after a while: Owee.. ^.~  
  
A_troubled_girl - THANK YOU!!!! And yes, Link is a HOTTIE!!!!!!!!!! *see the penname? Lol.. 


	6. WAAAAAHHHH! GOMEN!

~ WAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I haven't updated since... ?$#%!! Big apology to all of you!  
  
Readers: Give her the guillotine!! BURN!!!!!  
  
*elfboylover runs around in flames : NO, just hear me out!!!!  
  
Okay, here's my sorry a$$ excuse: I went on a trip over the summer, and unfortunately I didn't exactly have an access to the internet. I was going to post up a note before I left, but my dad took his laptop with him and I didn't get the chance. After that, I couldn't even get my hands on a freaking computer with connections until yesterday.  
  
Readers: WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU! BUUUUUUURRRRN!!!!!!!!!  
  
WAHH!!! I'm sorry everyone!!! I know some of you are extremely pissed off by now, and yes, I'll seriously burn for this to make you all happy. ^.^  
  
Readers: That's what we wanted to hear. ~_^  
  
??!!! Oh sure.. lol, I'm making an announce that I'll be able to update every two weeks on Sundays, so you don't have to keep checking in. And again, I'M SO SORRY!!!!  
  
Alright, enough of this crap let's just get this started.  
  
  
  
  
  
It was six fifty when Kafei walked out the door. He didn't want to keep Zelda waiting, and stopped by a hallway mirror to examine himself. Oh yeah, he looked good. Whistling to himself, he made his way to the girls' dorm. When he finally reached D-14, he took out a pocket comb and brushed his hair just lightly. Then, straightening and drowning his mouth with a minty breath spray, he rang the doorbell on the side of the wall.  
  
There was footsteps on the stairs, and someone paused before opening the door. "Hey bab- whoo," he stopped and looked her over. She wore a tight black skirt that was made of a fine, light fabric and reached just over her sandals. The red shirt she wore was made of crimson silk, and the neckline was very complimenting to her fine figure. Zelda's face was light with a hint of makeup, that it darkened her eyelashes and made her large eyes seem enticing and mysterious. The fine silky hair was slightly curled at the ends and fell in soft waves around her face and neck. Her red lips curved in a smile as she saw him.  
  
"Damn, babe," Kafei finally said, "You look hot." She laughed and answered with a grin, "Very modest, aren't you?" Kafei smiled at her, and opened the door for her as she stepped out. "Have your card?" he asked. Zelda motioned to the small black purse she was carrying, and Kafei closed the door behind them.  
  
"So," she said as they made their way down the hall, "Where are we going?" Kafei looked her over, scanning from top to bottom at her body. She didn't just look hot; she was practically frying eggs by now. "Well," he said after a while, "I thought I'd take you to dinner and then someplace really fun." She looked at him with a sideways smile. "I can't wait," her red lips formed. 'Neither can I,' Kafei thought as he stared after her when they entered the elevator.  
  
***  
  
That night was amazing. Kafei took her to a quaint restaurant, neither too fancy but just right for the occasion. They conversed lightly over dinner, finding him easy to talk to. After he paid for the bill, he drove Zelda around the town. "Where are we?" she asked impatiently. "You'll see," Kafei answered with a grin, "Close your eyes until I tell you to open them."  
  
The stars were just beginning to shine when he drove her to where he promised. "All right," Kafei said as they stopped the car, "Open 'em." Zelda looked and gasped with delight. It was a small carnival, with lights shimmering in the night and music playing in the air. "Not too far from school," Kafei remarked, "Opens till 1 AM. We could stay here for a while or as long as we can." "Kafei," Zelda said happily, "This is awesome!"  
  
He left the car and opened the door for her. "After you," he said formally, offering a hand. Zelda laughed and stepped out of the car. They hurried to the ticket booth, and went inside to the festive surroundings. They spent hours playing five rupee games (where Kafei proudly presented her a stuffed bunny when he hit the bell on the strength test) and went on the tiny rides.  
  
"Whoo hoo!" Kafei shouted as they were saddled to a merry go around pony, "Ride 'em cowboy!" Zelda laughed throughout the night, the lights dazzling her and having the most fun she ever did in years. She couldn't remember the last time her parents had ever took her somewhere to have fun, not ever since her mother left her and her father when she was five. This was bliss, just acting childish with someone who was fun enough to be around with.  
  
The night sped past them, and soon the music of the carnival began to dim as speakers announced the closing hour. Zelda and Kafei made their way out of the exit, where a man closed the gate behind them. The ride back to school reminded her just how tired she was, and Zelda couldn't wait to be in bed.  
  
They arrived at the school parking lot, and after several staggering minutes Kafei escorted her to her dorm room. While they stood in front of her door, Zelda turned to him happily. "Thanks, Kafei," she said, "I never had that much fun in my life." Kafei stared at her and grinned. "The fun's just started," he answered and leaned over and kissed her.  
  
Zelda was a bit surprised, then thought to herself that this was what most people do on a date. She felt his lips move, but couldn't bring herself to respond. Kafei pulled back after a moment, and murmured a good night before leaving. She called good night after him, then opened the door with the card.  
  
When she was inside, Zelda closed the door and leaned against it. That kiss had been quite.. well, it really wasn't anything at all. She didn't feel anything when he was close to her or when he said complimenting things to her appearance. Maybe this just took a little bit of time. Zelda yawned and placed her purse down on the floor. Vicky still wasn't back yet. Zelda doubted that Vicky would ever be back, from the things Malon told her about.  
  
She washed herself quickly and changed into her nightgown. Wearily, she climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly. The date had been truly exhausting, though somehow even in unconsciousness, she couldn't recall the kiss. Only a sensation was left on her cheek when she thought about masculine lips touching her..  
  
***  
  
The morning hit Link in the head hard, since last night with Vicky had been a bit wild. He groaned and flipped to his side in the bed, cursing at the noise Steve was making in preparing for school. Sleep overtook him easily when someone shook him awake. "Aw fuck it, Steve, can't you just beat the crap out of here?!"  
  
"Man, I thought we were friends!" a familiar voice said teasingly. Link opened his eyes and saw Sheik's face staring at him. "Dude!" he yelled and sat upright, "Sheik man, you're okay!" The young man laughed and slammed Link's hand. "So," he said as he began to jump on Steve's well made bed, "D'ya miss me?"  
  
Link scoffed and answered as he ran a hand through his hair, "Nah. You're just as good as dead.." "Come on, man," Sheik said as he bounced on the bed like a trampoline, "Ya missed me. Say it, I know you love me." "Damn it," Link replied with a grin, "you're just about the worst fucker I know, not even bitches like you." Sheik flipped from the bed with a laugh.  
  
"That's bullshit," he stated, "you can make it up to me." Link looked at him with a quizzical expression. "Whaddya mean?" he asked. Sheik's face split in a wide smile. "Don't tell me you forgot," he said, walking around the beds, "Our little talk a few days ago, that you were gonna get Vicky drunk for me."  
  
"Oh," Link chuckled, "that. Yeah well, you can have her in a week, promise." "You bastard," Sheik stopped walking and faced Link with a smile, "You've gotten her for a month! You trying to get me with her when she's PMSing?" Link burst out laughing, and he stuttered, "Dude, I can't believe you actually know what that means! Come on, Sheik, would I let you have with her if I knew she was getting one soon?"  
  
Sheik stared at him sideways with a surveying look. "Now that you mention it," he said slowly, "You probably want me to fuck her because of that. Screw it, tell me when she's not having one, then I'll go do her." Link smirked and gave Sheik a high five. "Link!" Steve's irritating voice called from downstairs, "Get going! School's in a half hour!"  
  
Link growled under his breath as he heard Steve leave out the door. "Man," Sheik said after a while, "How do you live with that guy?" "We're not married," Link retorted with a laugh, "But he acts like a real little bitch." He rolled off the side of the bed and plummeted Sheik with a pillow. "Get out," Link ordered, "I gotta change." Sheik gave a mocking swoon and replied in a high pitched voice, "Ooh, can't I watch?"  
  
He screamed and dodged a faked punch towards his face and raced down the stairs before Link caught up with him. "Shit!" Sheik stuttered through mad chuckles as Link pounded down the stairs with feigned look of rage. He yelled and twisted past the pieces of furniture and ducked under Link's aimless blows. Link reached out and grabbed at a fistful of white hair, which slipped by him and ran out the door.  
  
"Nah na!" Sheik taunted from the hall and stuck out his tongue. " 'Na' yourself," Link answered and slammed the door on his face. From the other side, Sheik began screaming and pounded on the door. "Hey, let me in! Come on, man!" Link chuckled and headed up the stairs, ignoring Sheik's shouts ("Yo, it's the ice cream man! You gotta open the door, dude!")  
  
Link pulled off the black shirt he always wore and tossed it on the bed. He went towards the drawer across from the foot of the bed. He opened it, looking for something that was good and washed. His hands groped around folded shirts that he never seem to give a fuck about, especially if his mother always send them to him. Still, as he held a dark red and black one in front of him, they were in style. Even if they made him look like a jock or something nicer.. what the hell?  
  
He stopped looking for a pair of jeans and looked at the thrown shirt lying on his bed. Link barely remembered the last time he washed that thing, nevertheless wearing something besides that for a change. Why the crap was he getting all picky for? Link held the black shirt in his hand and sniffed at it. 'Ugh,' he thought miserably, 'This thing stinks.' There were also the tears that stayed after each night he spent awake with some girl.  
  
Without another thought, Link dropped it in the trash bin. It stunk and it had holes, he began to wonder if he actually looked and smelled like that for the past few days. Speaking of which.. he ran a hand through his hair. It's been like.. hell, almost two weeks since he washed it? Link sped off into the bathroom and turned on the bath water. He gave himself a quick rinse, scrubbing hard with the lightly aromatic body soap Steve keeps all the time. His hair was covered in foam as he rubbed in the shampoo and thoroughly rinsed it.  
  
After ten minutes, Link stepped out of the shower and shook out droplets of water from the blond strands. He dried himself quickly and changed into the outfit he finally chose for himself and stared into the mirror. Holy crap, his hair was a mess. Link searched for something, then settled on Steve's comb. He brushed through it, flecks of water spraying on the mirror as he combed and arranged the hair. Link checked and was satisfied that nothing was sticking out, and placed the comb back where he found it and looked at the mirror.  
  
'Fucking shit,' he thought as he gazed at his own reflection. Someone was looking back, that someone in a very sporty attire and cleanly combed hair. He looked back at Link in the same shock, a wet strand of blond hair falling just over his eyes. Link could only recognize the blue eyes, and somewhat faintly familiar face. Yet everything else was just.. damn. This was not him, at least the him he knew better than anything else. He frowned, and the someone frowned back. Did he just wake up from a freakish nightmare, or was he sleeping right now? What the hell happened last night?  
  
He finally pulled himself from the mirror, glancing back to see if anything was amiss. With a quick fix of his hair, he went down the stairs and to the door. "Starving children in someplace I can't pronounce!" Sheik called from behind the door, "I'm here for donations! Open up, already!!" Link scoffed and pulled open the door.  
  
"About t- dude!" Sheik stopped entirely as he stared at Link. He looked at him up and down with a skeptical expression, while Link immediately turned around and closed the door and feeling a bit hot in the face. "Oh I get it!" Sheik said finally with a grin, "It's fine, I like it!" Link looked at him quizzically, "What?" "Yeah, I like it!" Sheik said and slapped Link on the back, "But man, you're kinda late for Halloween."  
  
Link shoved him away angrily, utterly embarrassed at his own decision. Sheik let out a restrained laugh as Link stormed down the hall with reddening cheeks. "Yo, Link," he called after him and ran towards him, "Wait up!" Link ignored him hotly and Sheik placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said in a calm voce, "I just don't get why you're getting all nice-looking for Vicky."  
  
He grinned as Link looked at him sideways and added humorously, "If I knew you liked her that much, I'll wait till you're really done with her." Link laughed and pushed him lightly as they went down the hall through several boys. "..man, Zelda looked so hot last night." Link paused and looked around. He found the voice belonging to a guy with dark hair talking to his tall friend as they walked down the stairs.  
  
'Last night?' he thought, 'Some fucking little get together or something?' Link scowled to himself and slightly slowed his walk. Somehow he felt a bit unclean, and his shirt wasn't that good on him anyway..  
  
***  
  
It was good to be back, to the friends and even the daily classes. Malon smiled at some people who showed concern for her while she and Zelda headed towards Science. "I can't believe it," she said to the blonde as they entered the room, "You must have had the best time of your life!" Zelda looked back at her with a secretive smile and sat in her desk. She opened her mouth to speak when the bell rang suddenly to start the class.  
  
"I'll tell you later," she promised and Malon wrinkled her nose in disappointment. She searched for the assignment and make up work for Professor Rauru, who seemed particularly irritable today. "Link! Sheik! Into the classroom!" he shouted down the hall. Sheik and Link walked inside while Sheik openly greeted the professor in front of the classroom. "Man I missed you!" he said tearfully as he hugged Rauru tightly, "I was in my cot, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel coming closer. Then I saw someone, dude. I saw your farty old face and I pulled through!"  
  
Link was standing on the side and chuckling with most of the entire class as Sheik continued to pat Rauru and held out a sign over the professor's back with bold words above an arrow pointed down: "Vacancy Below". Malon turned away and scoffed, but she couldn't resist the light tug on her cheeks. Rauru briskly pushed himself away at the sound of laughter, and ordered the two of them to sit down.  
  
Malon stood up to hand in her work, and upon returning to her seat Sheik clicked his tongue at her and winked. She sighed and shook her head, then sat down diagonally behind Zelda. While Rauru told the rest of them to hand in their assignment, Malon leaned over and tapped Zelda on the shoulder. "What happened last night?" she whispered in excitement. Zelda grinned and leaned back as she said in a low tone, "He took me out for dinner and we went to the most coolest place."  
  
"Yes?" Malon said with bright blue eyes, "Yes, come on!" Zelda hushed her and smiled as she turned to collect papers from those behind her. The red head sighed and leaned back in her chair, and saw Sheik looking at her and continuously pursing his lips. She frowned to herself and forced herself to look away. 'What is wrong with him?' she thought annoyed at his antics. This time he caught her eye and winked at her again. Malon turned away abruptly and ignored him completely.  
  
"Today we will review our notes from the last lesson with an experiment," Rauru said after all the homework was collected, "The assignment I'm going to issue is dependent solely on teamwork, so if everyone would please arrange themselves in pairs." Malon saw from the corner of her eye Sheik and Link giving each other a high five, upon which Rauru immediately added, "In pairs of an evenly distributed order."  
  
Malon frowned at Zelda, who looked back with the same expression as the class counted off in numbers. She nearly choked when Sheik ended up being her partner. 'Ohmigods!' she thought worriedly as they headed towards the storage closet for equipment, 'He's probably gonna set the entire desk up in flames! Not as nearly as bad as the time he made that sticky purple goo back in fourth grade but..'  
  
"Heyy lab buddy!" Sheik said brightly as he slung one arm over her shoulder. Malon pulled away from him disgustedly and tied up her long red hair away from her face. "Aw," Sheik stretched out his arms and blocked her path, "Come on red, don't be like this! I want to talk to you about yesterday." Malon stopped and stared at him curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
His face was a little bit relaxed, and for some reason Malon found him slightly different. They've met in preschool, and after all these years he always seemed to be the same. Yet now, there was a softer glint in his eyes. "Well," Sheik started and scratched his head as he looked from side to side, "It's just that um- you know, I never got to return the favor. Feels like shit loaded on your shoulders and you gotta get it off, so yeah, anything I can do to call it even?"  
  
Malon tilted her head and stared at his inexplicable expression. 'Weird,' she thought, 'He's practically trying to say thank you.' This was interesting, definitely unnerving and made no sense at all, but that's what interesting about it. This was Sheik, and for one thing he wasn't the kind to be so backwards around people. Yet here he was, shifting around in his feet and continuously looking from the side to side to avoid her face.  
  
She smiled a little and played around with his unease. "Are you really trying to thank me?" Malon said in self-satisfaction, "Or are you too full of crap to say it?" Sheik looked at her incredulously and shook his white hair. "Naw.. well," he replied with a slight stutter, "You know, I'm just tryin'ta see if you.. well, um- yeah so.." Malon smirked and stared directly into his amber red eyes. "You are trying to thank me," she said deliciously, "But, that's fine. I don't want anything from you."  
  
She headed towards their lab desk when Sheik stopped her, a bewildered expression on his face. "You mean you don't want anything at all?" he asked, slightly stunned. Malon smiled from underneath the pair of goggles she strapped on to her face and shook her head. "No," she answered, "Nothing at all. Seeing you nearly piss in your pants is enough." Sheik looked down stupidly to see she was lying, and Malon laughed.  
  
Sheik grinned back at her and placed on his goggles. "Well that sucks for you," he said with a twisted smirk, "I thought you woulda wanted something from me. I mean, after what you did for me yesterday, didn't you at least wanna fuck?" Malon jerked her head up towards him and he began to laugh raucously.  
  
"Fuck this, asshole!" she screamed at him and threw a beaker at his head. Sheik narrowly dodged it, and the glass shattered on the ground. Everyone turned their attention to her, and Malon felt her face burn. "Malon!" Rauru said firmly, "Poor demonstration of conduct! I expected better of you!" "I'm sorry, professor," Malon muttered, shooting a glare at Sheik's direction. She took a sweeping pan and broom to collect the shards, and saw Sheik flirting wildly with a pair of girls.  
  
'"Trying to say 'thanks'" my ass!' she thought angrily to herself, 'Just one of his stupid jokes and a chance to get laid!' Malon bit back the urge to scream, and blinked her eyes to keep the stinging away. She felt a hand soothingly running along her back, and looked up to see Zelda on her knees with a broom in one hand. "There's some glass that went to our side of the room," she said with a hint of a jest, "You should have seen it: the glass shooting out everywhere like a volcano. You ought to give up cheerleading and take up football or something."  
  
Malon laughed lightly at the crude joke, but she smiled warmly at her friend's help. Zelda didn't say anything till she swept up the remaining glass into the recycling bin. "I forgot to tell you yesterday," she remarked as they went to the broom closet, "Kafei has a really cute friend that wants to meet you." The red head looked at her interestedly and pulled her back. "Really?" she said excitedly, "What's his name? How cute is he?"  
  
Zelda raised her eyebrows enthusiastically. "He's pretty damn hot," she answered and added with a slight afterthought, "Of course, Kafei's a lot better.." Malon slapped her arm playfully. "Don't be dissing my man!" she said laughing, "Well, whoever he is." Zelda chuckled and replied, "His name's Mikau." "Mikau?" Malon repeated with smile at her friend, "Damn it, he is really hot! Did he say specifically that he wanted to go out with me or did you just say 'some friend'? Ooh ooh - anytime we'd be double-dating soon?"  
  
Nearby, Sheik exploded their lab table. Soon a rotten brown fog was gathering in the air, and began to grow darker and darker with each moment. It irritated their lungs and stung the eyes, and left a slightly burning sensation on their skin. "Everyone, maintain a routine emergency exit procedure!" the professor shouted at the top of his lungs as students backed away frantically. "We're all gonna die!" someone shouted and several girls screamed and scrambled to the hallway. "No! Please, no panicking!" Rauru attempted to quell the hysterics through the blinding thick fog.  
  
After an hour and the appearance of some people in gas masks, the fog was collected and carried off in large tanks. Nearby classrooms were interrupted as students periodically stood outside the door to see what had happened while their teachers ushered them inside. "My gods," Zelda said after a coughing fit, "Malon, you okay?" She nodded briefly while trying to blink out the stinging in her eyes.  
  
"Absolute idiocy!" Rauru shouted at the top of his lungs at a unwary Sheik, "Mixing unknown chemicals carelessly! Attempting the experiment individually when I specifically instructed the use of pairs!" "That ain't my fault," Sheik retorted and slid his hand through his hair, "My partner blew off on me." Malon was enraged and felt an overwhelming urge to run over and do what she had missed the last time.  
  
Zelda grabbed her shoulder firmly and shook her head. Sheik was already arguing with Rauru when Link joined in and continuously clenched his fists. The professor sighed after several hot remarks and left the two boys, who turned and headed down the hall together. "Everyone," Rauru said tiredly, "return to your seats. We will be reviewing notes." Several people groaned as they went inside.  
  
"Sheik and Link!" the professor called down the hall, "Return to class, immediately!" They ignored him and disappeared around the corner. Malon sat in her seat as Rauru droned on during the rest of class. Sighing, she rested her chin on crossed arms. Glancing to her right, the empty seat Sheik usually occupied seemed a bit too distant. Zelda was not as bright as she was in the beginning of class, leaning over in her desk and mechanically jotting down notes.  
  
The red head frowned to herself, and silently cursed at Sheik and his friends. They haven't changed, ever, and they never will. Malon still couldn't believe that she was stupid enough to think that Sheik actually.. her mind drifted off in subconscious. The stupid jackass.. detonating the entire lab right when she and Zelda were just talking about her and Mikau..  
  
  
  
  
  
~ Six chappies!! Whoo hoo!! ~_~ I'm working on the next chapter, but I'm also going to post up a new story soon. Check up on it if you wanna! No more comments, I am not worthy. ^_^  
  
Ooh ooh!! Votes for the surveys!!  
  
Favorite RL character - MALON!!! Funniest - SHEIK!!! Deserves to *****!!! - RUTO!!!!!!! WAH HA HA HA!!!! lol  
  
REPLIES!!!!! YAY!!  
  
coolchick1124 - Aw, thank YOU! I'm glad you like this story to review it! And yes, bribery and all those cheap things politicians have taught us is always the trick. *two military men drags elfboylover away. "WAIT, I WAS JUST KIDDING!!!!!" ^_^  
  
a_troubled_girl - THAAAAAAANX!!!! Lol, I had a feeling you'd vote for Link in the survey. *drooooooooooooooooool.. hehheheh...  
  
MoonRider - ACK!! No, I wasn't making fun of you, honest!!! And uh, hush on that rating thing, k? Just between you and me.. *military guys from before comes in and takes elfboylover: You just never learn, don't you?  
  
AlyssaS - Ooh, cliffhanger!! Hehe! I hope you liked chappy six, I think the next one's more thicker though. Hey, another cliffhanger! Lol, I'm happy you like it!!!  
  
Tushoyami - Right.. the dogs.. heh.. they're not - BIG, are they? ^_^' Lol  
  
AlyssaS - Argh, I'm sorry for keeping you on that cliffhanger for so long! *military guys come back. Elfboylover: what did I do wrong? Military guy: you're under arrest for harassing of a reader. Elfboylover: what?!! Hell with this, I'm not putting off any longer! (takes out Link's Master Sword that she.. borrowed ^.^) MUA HA HA HA!! TAKE THIS, YOU (censored)!!!!!!!! (BEEEEEEEP!) Note: the following scenes are mature and violent, and not fit for younger viewers. We are sorry for the inconvenience. ~_^  
  
dark_child03 - *blushes. Aw shucks (kicks floor bashfully) Big thanks for the review and votes!  
  
angel_16 - THANK YOU!!! Hope you like the next one!!  
  
April Summer - I'll never let go, I'll never let go!!! Rlol, j/k! Titanic flashback just then, thanks for your opinion on the survey! Promise I'll keep writing!! dark_child03 - sniff, domo arrigato!!! (thanks in Japanese.. is that right? ^.^)  
  
flight - IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol  
  
Ominous Intrigue - YAY! Chants: die-Ruto-die-Ruto DIE!! Lol, I'm glad we think alike. ~_~  
  
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MoonRider - I KNOW!! I'M SO SORRY!! BIG GOMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Qserenity2000 - *applause!!! Great scene, get into drama!!!  
  
a_troubled_girl - I'm sorry, I feel guilty for making everybody wait so long. Sniff, bad BAD!! ^.~  
  
magic_16 - Aw, thanks! I'll keep at it, I promise!! 


	7. THIS CHAPTER EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE O...

~~HEY!!!  
  
See, I promised to update every other Sunday! *takes deep bow.. silence and crickets are chirping. Heh heh.. very appreciated here. And hey, maybe I'm just really slow but WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO FANFICTION.NET?!!!! All the stories are listed by AUTHORS?! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND A ROMANCE OR A FUNNY FIC THESE DAYS?!!! GRRR!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! It's so hard for me to get people to actually read something that I write! *sniff. I'm sure TONS of people have already complained, but I guess that's how it's gonna stay. _' Lol, hope you like this chapter.  
  
  
  
Coach Ingo watched around him, looking closely at each male student who were all put to work against the weights. That's the only way to train, with a cold hard voice and heavy machinery. He laid back in the comfort of his chair and scratched his belly, which was beginning to stick out from under his shirt. He took a sip out of his soda and scanned the gym with his beady hawk-eyes. In the center was a series of massive equipment, upon which each boy took turns on the machines.  
  
"Kafei!" he shouted to one of the students chatting nonchalantly with a small, interested group, "I don't want to hear what you did last night, now get moving!" "Sorry, coach!" he answered and went off to wait in line for the machines. The coach sighed tiredly to himself. This was no easy job, but at least it pays. He drained the last of his soda and reached for a bag of chips from his cabinet.  
  
Ingo looked to his left, where in the far distance Ganon and Link were competing in weight lifting. Over half the class were cheering them on, the determined looks on each of their faces beaded with sweat. ""That's the spirit, boys!" Ingo shouted towards them, not caring if they could hear him or not over the over zealous encouraging of the rest of the class.  
  
He emptied the bag of potato chips into his mouth, upon which a student ran up yelling, "Coach, coach!! Link and Ganon, they're at it!" Ingo choked, bits of potato chip hanging on to his mustache. In the far corner, the two boys were using dum bells and several other weights in a combat. Ingo watched in slight terror as Ganon aimed a blow towards Link's head, holding one of the thirty pound dum bell in his hand. Luckily, Link ducked and a crater was formed at the side of the wall just brushing the side of his skull.  
  
"Coach!" the student yelled over the many surprised and tense shouts. "Uh.." Ingo stammered and cautiously walked up to the edge of the crowd who were watching the fight. "Boys, stop it!" he screamed and blew hard in his whistle. Whether they could hear him or not, he didn't give a damn. When Link had Ganon doubling back and nearly ramming towards Ingo, the coach immediately sped off to his office.  
  
Ingo frantically picked up the phone and scanned on the teacher's directory. He dialed the number, looking up to see the two boys in a tight headlock, trying to gain control over the other. "Come on," he muttered as the phone rang twice, "Pick up, damnit!!" Finally, someone picked up the receiver. "Hello?" it asked.  
  
The gym was in a uproar as some people tried to pull the two fighters away but were too afraid to get involved. "Hello?!" the voice asked again. "Darunia!" Ingo yelled into the receiver over the screams, "I need you in the gym!" "Ingo, what the hell in gods is going on!" Darunia's heavy voice screamed. Ingo watched from the window as Link reeled back with blood running down his face.  
  
"Get here, damnit before some fucking idiot's killed!" He hung up the phone and retreated into his chair. Ganon just recovered from a punch to the side of his arm, and was retaliating in full force a barrage of blows aimed at Link's head. "Kill him, Ganon!" one of the boys screamed admist the yells. Link successfully dodged every attack, when Ganon feigned a left and smashed into his stomach with a metal dum bell on the right. Link doubled over and spat out a spray of dark red blood, and a few of the boys attempted to hold off Ganon.  
  
Ingo cracked his knuckles nervously, this wasn't in his job description, he had no responsibility over a private dispute. It wouldn't really cut from his paycheck if the two boys got wild without him being able to stop it. While he stalled for time, Ganon threw a boy over his shoulder and was advancing on Link. The young man's mouth trickled with blood being kept back in his throat, and he fought against the few who were trying to hold him back from Ganon.  
  
"Let me go, you fucking idiots!" he cried aloud while Ganon pushed through the crowd to get him. Link couldn't free his arms, and as he fought more blood was pouring out of his nostrils and lips. Ingo watched in dismay, when the large gym doors swung opened. Everyone else looked, and it was the only distraction Link needed to jump out of the way. He avoided Ganon's relentless punches and tried to keep himself from drowning in his own blood.  
  
"STOP THIS INSTANT!"  
  
Someone grabbed Ganon from behind in a tight lock around his arms and kept him still. Darunia, looking cross as he stared at the two boys, bellowed while he kept Ganon restrained, "What is the meaning of this?! Unacceptable behavior!" Everyone was silent, even Ganon lax his struggles against the professor's strong grip. The brawny, rock hard face scanned the faces of each boy, and rested silently on the two.  
  
"Ganon, report to the headmaster immediately! After you've visited Nurse Cremia, I expect the same from you, Link," Darunia instructed harshly. Niether of them moved, and the math professor shot them an enraged glare. "Well? Get moving!" Ganon sulked out of the gym, while Link went out the opposite direction. "I expect everyone to go back into their normal activities," Darunia said to the rest of the boys. Each went on his own business, and Ingo blew his whistle. "All right people, do whatever you were doing before!" the coach added  
  
Ingo grinned until he met the harsh stare of Darunia. "Uh.." he stuttered uncomfortably, "Thanks for your help." The professor sighed and shook his head as he began to leave. "Really Ingo," he called back from the door, "if you could actually handle this position.. well, I'll say no more." The door closed, leaving Ingo in a bewildered state.  
  
***  
  
Link wasn't at school for the past three days, Zelda noted. She frowned to herself and pinched her arm. 'Who cares?' she asked mentally. There was no reason for her to care, and for things so far it didn't really matter. She stared down at the English activity Professor Anju assigned for them. "In our coming of age, we have only begun to realize the value of our paternal grownups. Retell a value you honor in your parents or a cherished aspect you have learned from them. The paper is due on the 21st of November on the occasion of the school's family visit."  
  
Zelda began writing her introduction, but was interrupted before she could go any longer. There was someone staring at her from the door. She looked up, and recognized the face. Professor Din was motioning for her to step outside. Zelda looked hesitantly at Professor Anju, who glanced from her gradebook and nodded to her. She quietly made her way through the class and went outside.  
  
"Bring your books," the drama teacher told her when she stepped out. "Why?" "This will take a while, so come along." Zelda returned inside and explained to the English teacher. The professor sighed with a knowing smile. "I expected Din would come knocking around sometime," she answered, "It's alright. Just work on the assignment." Mikau looked up as Zelda packed her things.  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked her. She shrugged and waved to him as she left, then ran to catch up with Professor Din down the hall. "Could you please," she asked, "tell me what this is about?" "Auditions," she replied casually. "But," Zelda started, "They're not until tomorrow!" "Change in plans," the professor answered, "It's more convenient this way, please understand."  
  
They turned and arrived at the auditorium. There were a large group of people humming with noise. Everyone had gotten their script out and was practicing their part, dramatically portraying the character they hoped to get. Zelda spotted Ruto in a distance from everyone else, saying the lines for the female lead role. She glanced up and saw Zelda, and smirked confidently as she walked down to take a seat.  
  
"Okay people!" Professor Din shouted as she cut through the crowd, "Everyone sit down! Let me go through what we need to do for everybody." There was a hustle as students went in different directions. Zelda spotted Saria and Mido chatting together, and slipped beside them. "Zelda, hey!" Saria said as she sat down, "So glad you're here, we were planning the downfall to Ruto's career."  
  
She giggled when Professor Din clapped her hands loudly and shushed everyone. "Alright, here's what we do. You will all have to come together in groups of the character or singing role you are trying out for. If some of you are going to split parts, then place yourself in a separate group. We will began looking for the seven guardians of the temple and from thereon down the list of characters. I hope all of you brought your homework with you, because the only break we will take is for dinner in the cafeteria. The auditions will take up as long as it needs to, because tomorrow we will begin practice. You may only leave if, and only if, you have finished auditioning. Otherwise, there is no chance for you to get in. If you can't handle this kind of pressure, then sayonara, cause I don't want any slackers in this play! Now let's get started!"  
  
"Good luck," Mido whispered as Zelda got up. "Yeah," Saria added, "kick some Ruto butt." Zelda laughed and found her way to the group of soloists. She noticed Ruto keeping away from everyone else, sitting straight in her seat and checking her pitch. Everyone else was conversing or acting out parts with one another. Zelda glanced at the packet she took from her bookbag.  
  
'Damn,' she thought, 'I'm not ready yet. I've only read it through twice, I don't even have an idea of how the tune goes!' Zelda panicked, and glanced around her. What was she going to do?! There was a large crowd of people around the baby grand Yamaha testing out their voice and practicing the pieces they composed for the play. She saw a small piano in the corner that was not being used, but it looked old and not too reliable. There was a shout from Professor Din as she criticized one of the students for not having enough intonation after only the first line. The teacher stormed up the stage and began to hassle the boy terribly, who was just short of fainting.  
  
Zelda sighed and made her way to the piano. What other choice did she have? She sat down the piano and placed the score in front of her. Then she began to play the notes with one hand, and the melody suffered on the badly tuned piano. It was a half an hour later when she finally got past the first page. The music was complicated, she had gotten that down so far.  
  
She took a deep breath and started again when someone stood next to her. Zelda looked up and saw Ruto staring down at her. "I see that you haven't learned your part yet," she noted haughtily, "Of course, whether you learn that part or not, you'll never get it." Zelda's cheeks flushed hotly with rage. "Isn't that for Professor Din to decide?" she answered, "Of course, whether you knew that or not, it wouldn't matter now, would it?"  
  
Ruto's large eyes flashed with malice, and with a scoff she turned her nose up in the air and walked away. Zelda stared after her and went back to playing her part. Maybe she should consider what Saria had said.  
  
***  
  
Professor Din was not joking when she said it would take as long as it needed to. The auditions for musical numbers were near the end, and it was eleven thirty at night when they weren't even half through. Saria yawned for the third time in a row, and stretched her back. 'Gotta stay awake..' she thought to herself, 'Must avoid..sleep..' In an instant, she dozed off.  
  
"Hey," someone nudged her sleepily. Saria woke up with a start and rubbed her eyes. "I wasn't.. gonna.." she fell against the seat and mumbled to herself. She spent a few moments lying there on the chair when her face was turning uncomfortably hot. Saria wrinkled her nose at a bitter smell, and realized what it was. She opened her eyes and saw a cup of coffee being offered in front of her face. "Here," Mido said as he handed a cup to her and Zelda, who was still poring over a science homework.  
  
"No, I don't get it!" Zelda yelled, "I've done this ten thousand times and I'm still not getting the right delta H value!" "You must be losing concentration at this late of an hour," Saria replied as she sipped the dark brew. "Ugh," she shuddered, "Mido, this coffee's strong!" "Oops," Mido answered as he stared down his cup, "Sorry, that was mine. Wanna trade back?"  
  
Saria shook her head and held up her hand. "No prob," she said quickly as she drained the cup, "I need the caffeine." "Uh, okay," Mido replied uncertainly and drank his coffee. Saria took the cup from his hand and grabbed Zelda's. "You're all done, let me get you more," she said. "None for me," Zelda answered. "Me neither," Mido added. "Okay, whatever!" Saria ran out the door the refreshments table and threw out the cups. She refilled hers with more coffee, then went back in.  
  
Zelda was erasing madly on her paper when she sat down. "Here," Saria said as she snatched it, "Let me take a look. Oh, you just switched the signs of the reactants with the products! Here ya go!" The blonde took it back and stared at Saria as she guzzled down her coffee. "Thanks, Saria," she said, "But, didn't you just had a cup?" "Hm?" Saria glanced at her from the rim of the Styrofoam cup. Mido and Zelda looked at each other hesitantly.  
  
"Wow, I needed that," Saria said as she smacked her lips, "Hah.. wonder what they're doing over there?" She sped off in a direction towards a small group lying on their backs. Zelda gazed after the green hair girl curiously. "Did she seem.. odd to you?" she asked him.  
  
Saria had never felt better or alert than now. There were people who really need this kind of pick-me-up. "HI! Whatcha doin?" she asked two girls. They looked at each other and stared at her strangely. "Um, practicing lines," one of them answered. Saria nodded and briskly ran off with a "Nice meeting you!" Soon, her head split in a massive ache. "Ugh," she moaned and carried herself out of the auditorium.  
  
There, she filled another cup with coffee, and drained it then and there despite that it was somewhat hot. "Mm.." she said contentedly to herself and dashed back inside. Saria scanned the auditorium and laid sights on the stage. A group of students were looking extremely nervous before their turn, wringing their packets in their hands and reciting lines. Excellent use for her energy now, they need to feel the enthusiasm.  
  
Saria went up to them and pulled one of the boys out. "Come on, get excited!" she yelled happily and started doing jumping jacks, "One, two, one two! Do it with me now, one two!" They scattered off in different directions away from her. "Hey!" Saria ran to catch them and began to drag each one back.  
  
"Oh no," Mido lamented, "She needs to be stopped." Zelda placed her books aside and stepped out of her seat. "I thought she was drinking too much coffee," she answered. "We'll wait until the caffeine's been used up," Mido told her as they approached Saria cautiously, "Then, go in for a grab and I'll take her back to her dorm." "What about her musical audition?" Zelda asked anxiously. "It'll have to wait," he replied. "But-" "No!" Mido retorted, "You don't understand. If we make this quick and clean, there'll less casualties." His face softened in sadness and he added silently, "I've been through this before.. it was horror.. There will be no one left to audition when she's done."  
  
Zelda nodded slowly at the determined expression on Mido. They caught up with Saria, and as she moved down the auditorium to the exit they seized her arms. "Wha - hey!" the girl struggled and yelled, "What's with you guys?! I was just getting some more coffee!" "Oh no you don't!" Mido grunted as the two of them held her, "You're not doing anymore damage!" Saria whipped her face to the two of them in anger. "What are you guys talking about?!"  
  
Suddenly, the migraine returned. With a faint moan, she fell slowly to the floor. Zelda caught her by one arm as Mido hoisted her up. "Help me with her," he said, and they managed to place her in his arms. Zelda stepped back, then grinned. Mido, who was staring down at the serene face, glanced up at her curiously. "What?" he asked. The blonde only smiled and turned away. "Hey! What?" Mido called back at her.  
  
"Nothing," she answered, "Just get her back to her dorm, commando." Zelda turned to see Mido's cheeks turn red as he carried Saria out the auditorium. With a laugh, she subsided into her seat and continued her homework.  
  
***  
  
During the middle of Science, Zelda came in slowly to Professor Rauru. Link paused slightly in his conversation with a girl to look up. He began tugging at the dark blue shirt he wore for the day, the one made of fine Asian silk and was fashioned to show a well-formed shoulder. It was tucked loosely at the ends to a pair of black pants that were straight and slack around his ankles, and tightened around his waist with a thin leather belt that matched the hue of his pants and had a gold buckle. That was over a pair of black leather shoes that had a gleam from every polished direction and had a very fancy lettering over the metal clip. Link didn't even knew he had enough clothing to make that kind of a combination, but after paging ten men's fashion magazines he had a pretty decent idea.  
  
The professor stopped in his sentence and greeted Zelda warmly, "Ah, Zelda! I understand play auditions have just ended this morning." "Yes," she answered wearily and nodded, "Oh, and I have a note from Nurse Cremia permitting Malon to stay in her dorm. Her dorm mate is getting massive headaches and she needs to tend her." "I see," the professor answered as he read the note, "Well then, after you've handed in your assignment you can take your seat."  
  
She took out the homework from her notebook and gave it to him, then took her seat next to Link. "Now," Professor Rauru continued, "As we were before, the use of Hess's Law can be applied if and only if there are at least two equations to combine and one equation in which we wish to become the result. While the necessary changes occur, the delta H values are also affected. So, if I may present an example on the board to demonstrate the use of Hess's Law. Can anyone recite the reaction between ammonium chloride aqueous with water?"  
  
Link watched humorously as Zelda wrote the last word in her notebook: ".. aqueous with water?" He looked at her face just briefly and could note the heavy bags under her eyes. The soft blond hair was uncombed and fell untidily around her pale cheeks. There was a lagging in her actions and a droop in her posture as she sat. He cracked his neck with a tilt of his head, and crossed his legs nonchalantly. His shoulder was in visible view as he tugged at his shirt again, and glanced at her for just a moment.  
  
Zelda was sighing to herself and making a very impressive effort to keep herself awake and taking avid notes. Link frowned to himself as he turned away to stare at the board. She must have been totally wiped out from last night. As screwed up as it might seem, he wanted her to go back to her dorm and just get some rest. Hell, he'd take her there himself if the little bitch wasn't going out with Kafei.  
  
The thought of it churned in his stomach. He fingered the sore on his side from yesterday's brawl with Ganon. 'Damn bastard,' he thought, 'didn't even wanna fight 'em this time.' Link recalled listening when Kafei was talking about Zelda on a date the previous night, then he said something to Ganon that he didn't remember. Whatever it was, the guy threw a weight at him that just about grazed his leg. Then they each had a three day suspension, all because of that blue haired pretty boy.  
  
Link let the thought go. He just didn't like Kafei, that's all. 'Fucking asshole whose never even done it half the times he said he's fucked,' he thought leisurely. Of course he didn't really knew if that was a liable fact, but it somehow gave him a bit of comfort. With a silly grin on his face, he tugged at his shirt and looked at Zelda just briefly. Link glanced back when he saw her head resting on the table, her shoulders lifting just slightly as she slept.  
  
Professor Rauru stopped talking and a few people started looking at Zelda. Sheik nudged Link and pretended to snore. They snickered between each other when the professor stood over them with a disapproving look. He bent down and shook Zelda's arm. "Ms. Harkinian.. Ms. Harknian," he whispered. Zelda slowly lifted her head up and saw the class and Professor Rauru staring at her. "Oh," she muttered, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Quite alright," the professor answered, "I believe you should be excused for the day. Please go back to your dorm and take your time to rest a while, it is cruel and unusual punishment to have to suffer insomnia because of Professor Din's demanding will." He smiled lightly at her and went to his desk to write her a note of excuse. Link watched as Zelda gathered her belongings and hoisted her bookbag over her shoulder, and finally uncrossed his legs from the sheer weariness of it.  
  
Professor Rauru handed her the note when she reached him. "You're allowed to leave once you've received all the signatures from your teachers permitting you to leave," he instructed, "Then you go to the headmaster's wing and have the office check for you." Zelda nodded and thanked him. Link watched the door close long after she left, and withdrew his hands from the sides of his shirt. He slouched forward in his seat feeling sort of relieved yet defeated and frustrated all the same.  
  
'Crap,' he thought to himself, 'I need to get some Vogue magazines or sumthin.'  
  
***  
  
It was a long hike from one end of the building to the next. Zelda had to chase down three of her teachers, going down to the office four times in total to find out the room they taught in a different schedule. Coach Impa was the hardest, being outside with the girls on the farthest field in the entire school. In the end, Zelda finally had all the signatures on the note.  
  
"Now all I need is.. oh no.." she moaned. The main office, directly at the front of the building she just left. Zelda sighed and hoisted her heavy bookbag over her shoulder. She was getting tired from holding it, full of the textbooks and binders she wasn't going to need that day. Her back was aching terribly, and she felt too tired to go on. With a deep yawn, Zelda treaded slowly to the office. When she finally arrived, the bell had rung and students rushed out of their classes.  
  
"Excuse me, sorry," she muttered. It just happened to be the busiest hallway, and it just happened to be where she was at. Zelda clutched the note in her hand, when she felt around and noticed it was not there. "Crap!" she yelled and looked around the floor, "Come on, where is it?" She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear crouched low to search for it. The note lay a few feet to her right, and she sighed deeply in relief.  
  
Zelda stood up and reached for it when a group of people holding large boxes pushed past her. "Coming through!" they shouted and hauled cartons of beverages to the cafeteria. Zelda ducked and tried to see through the many feet just where the note went. "Whoops! Sorry, young lady," said a man as he bumped into her. She briefly paused and waited until they had all passed, then dropped down to where the note was.  
  
"What?!" she cried. It was gone, and before long she spotted it drifting near the main door. The people carrying the cartons called for a student to open the door for them, and a girl stepped aside to pull the doors open. "No!" Zelda shouted and sprinted down the hall. But soon, the autumn wind picked up the note and whipped it into the air. "Excuse me, I have to get through!" she said as she slipped past the people.  
  
When she finally stepped outside, she looked in vain for the piece of paper. There was no chance that she was going to go back to Professor Rauru and ask for another one, then track down all her teachers all over again. Something fluttered near the large oak tree, and Zelda ran towards it. Just as she neared it, the wind took it up again. Soon it drifted into the air and was carried further and further away.  
  
Zelda groaned and ran after it, cursing the weight of her bookbag pulling down at her shoulders. She made a leap to catch it in the air, but missed by a few inches. The wind slowly died down, and the note was slowing and falling gently. Zelda took a few deep breathes, her chest aching from the cold. She saw to her horror the note falling near to the river bank. "No, please don't!" she pleaded.  
  
With a heave, she ran towards it and attempted to catch it. However, it slipped through her fingers and was falling fast to the water. Zelda felt defeated when someone grabbed it from the air. "Is this yours?" Link's voice asked her. She felt stunned for a moment, then turned slowly to face him. It wasn't Link, it was Mikau. Zelda smiled at him, then reprimanded herself for still not being able to tell the difference between their voices.  
  
"Yeah, it is," she answered and he handed it to her with a grin. "Be happy that I've got long arms," he joked lightly, "You're going back to your dorm?" Zelda sighed and nodded. "Yeah, auditions took all night," she answered. "So I've heard," Mikau noted, "I hope you get yourself some well deserved rest. Oh, hey! How'd it go?" She shook her head. "I didn't get the part I wanted," Zelda replied.  
  
Mikau wrinkled his nose in a cute frown. "Damn, that sucks," he said with sentiment. Zelda shook her head again. "Not really," she added, "I didn't get the part I wanted because she gave me a bigger role. I'm the new evil sorceress." His eyebrows lit up and he smiled. "Hey, congrats!" Mikau said. The warning bell rang, and he looked towards the direction he was headed. "Jeez, gotta go," he stated, "I'll see you tomorrow, Zelda. Congratulations again!" Zelda waved at him as he ran off and started for the main office.  
  
She turned and saw the same girl with Link down the path. It was the girl she had seen down the hallway with him the first day here, after he had held her back from pouncing on Ganon. She was giving him what was obviously a good-bye kiss, however big of a scene they were creating. Link was obviously enjoying it immensely, placing his hands in areas where it was not normal to be presenting in public view.  
  
'Turn away,' she told herself. But the voice was a weak one, and Zelda found herself staring at the girl. Then she finally recognized her. It was Vicky, the girl she was supposed to be sharing a dorm with. But then, Vicky managed to find some other bed every night since. Zelda wondered sarcastically just where she might have ended up at night. Her hands clutched the note too hard, and it tore in the center.  
  
Finally, the bell rang, and only a few students were still outside trying to find their class. Link and Vicky pulled apart, and she whispered something in his ear. He was laughing from whatever she had said, then the two of them went into separate directions. 'There, it's done. Are you satisfied?!' she screamed at herself. But she couldn't stop staring at Link as he walked off. His shoulder was protruding from his shirt, making it a slightly cute aspect to the outfit he was wearing.  
  
Link was looking from side to side when he saw Zelda. She pulled her head away abruptly and headed the long way to the main office. He turned away just the same, and kept his gaze towards the door. Zelda resisted the urge to slap herself silly as she went. 'What an ironic situation,' she thought, and smiled painfully.  
  
***  
  
From the incidents in the past thirty two hours, Zelda was more than glad to fall into her bed. It was around eight when she got back to her dorm, having to get another note since the previous one was damaged. Classes started at six in the morning to four in the afternoon, nine classes a day with an hour of lunch break, and ten minutes in between each fifty minutes of class to get through the halls. Evidently, sleep was very precious, and most students adapt themselves to four hours a night.  
  
She sighed comfortably in her pillow, feeling relieved at last. Her alarm was set at three, since play practice was this afternoon and she would need time to prepare herself. Zelda dozed for half an hour when she woke up with a start. "No.. homework.." she moaned and dragged herself out of bed. With a groan, she headed to her bookbag and took out the list of assignments her teachers were so kind enough to supply.  
  
Zelda shook her head at the load of work she had to finish. Classwork was included on the list, and Professor Talon actually decided to teach that day. That alone doubled the amount she needed to finish, along with the Pathway to Business project she was expected to be prepared for by tomorrow. Zelda stared at the rubric for the project, and recalled someone named Steve Whitner being her partner. There were also the drawings she had been putting off in Art for her sketchbook, and a few extra credit packets from Professor Tingle's Advanced Geography. Even Coach Impa had instructed her in a number of exercises for track meet, which would take up the half an hour before play practice began.  
  
That was it, she was not going to get the sleep she wanted if she wanted the grade. Zelda decided she should run first in order to feel more energized, but she could hardly keep her eyes opened. She went downstairs to the kitchen to look for coffee, but found none. It was no help to ask Malon, since she had thrown out every once of Folgers after Saria's incident.  
  
With a sigh, Zelda changed into a pair of sweats and went outside. She spent ten minutes stretching, and twice as much time warming up in the low temperature. Then, carrying a small wristwatch to time herself, she ran for twenty minutes around the perimeter of the school. This was repeated twice before she finally was able to say it was done. Zelda took deep breaths and drank the water she brought along with her.  
  
The air was chilly, and she was both horribly hot and biting cold at the same time. Her chest hurt in pangs, as she tried to take slow, even breaths to supply herself with oxygen. She could feel her heart trying to pound its way out of her chest, and the pain was tearing at her. Zelda shook her head in a daze. What was wrong with her?  
  
She took several deep breaths and walked back slowly to her dorm. Her head was starting to grow heavy, and she kept seeing hot flashes. Suddenly, her stomach churned as she felt the nauseating urge to throw up. Zelda closed her eyes tightly and willed herself to take deep breaths and drank a bit more water. The urge subsided, and her stomach felt like lead. Her breaths slowly grew steady, and she went inside the door.  
  
"Okay now," she muttered, "Time for some homework." Sitting at the table, she started on the assignments. Hours passed by, and the only time Zelda could stop thinking about work was the fifteen minute break for lunch. Then she resumed working, until her alarm upstairs went off. "Shit," she cursed and ran up to turn it off. Zelda sighed and stared at her bed longingly, but tore her gaze away and started to prepare for the play. At least she was excused from track, but Professor Din had obviously emphasized the importance of each contributing part in the first practice.  
  
Zelda took a half an hour to review a small portion of the packet, then finished up the remainder of her homework. It was 4:10 when she was about to leave that the phone rang. Zelda picked up the receiver and answered it. "Hello?" "Hey, babe!" Kafei's voice said at the other end, "You alright today?" "Yeah, I just didn't get enough sleep last night," Zelda answered with a smile. "Yeah, I heard from Mikau you got a part in the play! Nice!" "Thanks," she replied.  
  
"Hey, you wanna go out again tonight?" he asked her. "Um.. I'm not too sure," she started, "I just finished all of my homework and I still couldn't find time to rest. I've also got play practice around now, so I might not be able to." "Oh come on," Kafei persuaded, "It'll do you some good! When's your practice over?" "At around six," Zelda replied. "Okay then," he said, "I'll meet you at Lake Hylia Reservoir after six. Can you get there?"  
  
Zelda contemplated the thought, and glanced at the clock which read 4:15. "I've got a car," she answered, "But I just don't think I should be out." "Baby," Kafei's tone was a bit annoyed, "I think all this is, it's stress, ya know? You gotta come out a bit and have some fun! And don't worry, a nice long drive to the lake and a relaxing night out with a fun cool guy is what you need!"  
  
"Well, I don't know.." she started and saw the clock was ticking towards 4:20. If she ran, she could get to the auditorium in ten minutes, but she wasn't sure of the direct route there.  
  
"Kafei, can I talk to you later?" she asked him. "Zelda, give me an answer now!" he answered, "Otherwise, that'll ruin all plans I had for us tonight!" Zelda looked at the clock, it was now 4:23. "Um, okay! I'll see you there, alright?" "Great! Later, babe!" The phone clicked and she hung it on the receiver with a bang.  
  
Zelda changed her outfit just slightly for the outing, and ran out of the door with a jacket and her purse. "Damn!" she said and fumbled with her card to go inside and retrieve her script. She made a mad dash to the elevator, and pressed the button. Without waiting for ten seconds, she ran down the stairs instead. Running full speed in heels, she finally made it to the auditorium a minute after the time.  
  
Thankfully, Professor Din was busy with the props and set crew to notice. Everyone was checking off their names or scattered in the scenes they needed to rehearse in. Zelda made her way through and waited in line for her name to be checked off. "Name?" the girl with a notepad asked her. "Zelda Harkinian," she replied. "Ooh, are you really?" a slightly familiar voice chirped from behind her.  
  
Zelda turned around and saw Navi, who looked like she was bursting with something she was dying to tell. "I heard you're going out with Kafei," Navi said. Zelda nodded, and Navi glanced at her outfit. "Going out again, huh?" she asked. "Yeah, after the play practice," she answered. Navi only nodded and ran off to a group of people. Zelda saw her talking to some of the students and was constantly pointing at her.  
  
She turned around, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Navi must be the school's biggest gossiper around. Zelda made a mental note to not have any personal conversations with the girl in the fear of having her start any rumors about her. She went off to take a seat when Professor Din called in a loud voice from the stage, "Where's my sorceress?! I need my sorceress up here, right now! All set crew, get up here!"  
  
Zelda abruptly stood from her seat and ran up the steps to the stage. She stood next to several other people with major roles, and saw Ruto with her chin tilted upwards. Ruto glanced at her sideways, and turned away without a word. From the look on her face, it was obvious what part she had gotten. But she was staring intently at something else on the stage when she turned away. Zelda followed her gaze, and nearly jumped.  
  
Link was there, leaning against the wall behind the curtains. He looked as if he was trying to hide himself from view, standing in the shadows and on the side of the stage instead of the center. Zelda soon found herself staring too, and he looked briefly. Link shifted his gaze quickly to the curtains, and made a play of feeling the fabric with a finger.  
  
Ruto looked back at Zelda in anger. She walked by and whispered as she passed along, "What's the matter, blonde? Got an urge stuck up between your skirt?" Zelda turned around to see Ruto's back, and felt a poisonous contempt fueling her. She looked back at the curtains, but Link was gone. She wondered if he was here to aid as stage management, but her thoughts were interrupted by Professor Din's instructions to begin reciting lines from Scene II.  
  
The two long hours were arduous for Zelda. She felt exhausted yet energized in the prospect of showing Ruto.. what? The girl had been rude to her for no particular reason since her first day here, and for the reason of Link being present at play practice Ruto was getting even frostier. Did she think Zelda was in competition to get Link? Zelda laughed to herself, and felt both sardonic and pained.  
  
'Not much longer,' she thought at the last moments of practice, 'Then it's off to Lake Hylia with Kafei.' Zelda was a bit perplexed though, not knowing where Link went. She hadn't seen him ever since he was hiding behind the curtains.. he had probably dropped the idea for the play. Zelda stifled a yawn, and stretched her back. "That was marvelous, people!" Professor Din applauded, "I expect next practice to be even better! Have a nice evening everyone!"  
  
All the students sighed with relief and slowly marched out of the auditorium. Zelda walked off the stage when someone pulled her aside. "Hey!" Nabooru said and gave Zelda a big hug, "Great job! I was taking some pictures when I saw you up there!" "Thanks, Nabooru," Zelda answered gratefully, "I haven't seen you around for a while." Nabooru sighed and twisted the shoulder strap to her camera.  
  
"Yeah, things have been getting hectic," she replied, " We've been trying to get a new dance in between the formal and the parents' visiting next week, but getting all the catering and representatives ready for the parents is hard enough. I can't go visit Mally or anyone for that matter." "I'm sorry to hear that," Zelda said, "Wish you had some time." "Nabooru!" Professor Din called, "Can I see you please?"  
  
Nabooru smiled at Zelda and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Yeah, that's life!" She waved a good-bye and went off to Professor Din. Zelda smiled to herself as she left the auditorium. Her back was aching worse than before now that she had to stand straight for two hours. She wasn't sure whether she should call Kafei and cancel their date.  
  
'No, that's just rude,' she thought. She already complied, so there was no turning back. Besides, she thought as she slid into the driver's seat of her Hyundai Civic, maybe it was just stress getting to her head. Checking the rearview mirror, she drove out of the student's parking lot.  
  
***  
  
Malon and Saria stared at each other intently. "I put.." Malon said, "two queens." "BS!" Saria called out and turned over the two cards over a thick stack, "HA! Two of hearts and three aces! Nice try!" "NO!" Malon doubled over and fell back on the bed as she collected the stack with a laugh. There was suddenly a frantic ringing at the door.  
  
They dumped their cards on a pile and jumped off the bed. The ringing was persistently urgent, and Malon called out irritatedly, "Coming, we're coming!" They opened the door to see Nabooru distraught and heaving as she cried. "Nabby!" Malon shrieked, "What's wrong?!" Nabooru was in hysterics as she covered her face in shaking sobs. Vicky and Link passed by the door and laughed as they went down the hall.  
  
Malon frowned at them and placed comforting arms around Nabooru. "Nabooru.." Saria whispered, "What happened?" "It's.." Nabooru said in between sobs, "It's.. Zelda." "What?" Malon took Nabooru's face in her hands and demanded patiently, "What's wrong with Zelda? What happened?"  
  
Nabooru took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry," she said in a strained voice, "I should have asked her how she was when I had the chance. Zelda's been in a car accident. She's in the ER, and she's lost a lot of blood. I think she's going to die."  
  
  
  
  
  
~~Ah heh heh heh, I don't know whether what I wrote was a bad or a good thing, cause it's pretty much a cliffhanger. Uh oh.. *readers: WHY YOU LITTLE ******!! Help me! J/k, I for one, do not like cliffhangers. But as the author, they're kinda fun to write! Lol. OOH!! READ MY NEW FANFIC!!! IT'S ON SSB MELEE, AND A ROMANCE AND HUMOR, SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
REVIEWS!!! THANK YOU ALL!!! ~_~  
  
Tushoyami - HEY! I noticed you're always checking up on my stories, and THANK YOU!! I've read a few of yours, and LOL they're really cute! And heh heh.. pitbull? *chibitized elfboylover dashes off. Lol  
  
Rai Dorian - Ooh, I'm so glad you put this as one of your favorites!! Yes, Sheik is such a doofus, but we love him all the same. ^.~  
  
a_troubled_girl - Yay! It's true stories can bring happiness to peoples' lives! Lol, I'm happy because you reviewed, big thanx! Anonymous - "Kewl" lol  
  
MoonRider - Gomen is supposed to be "sorry" in Japanese. Lol, I'm the one apologizing for not updating, and yes, Link and Zelda would.. EVENTUALLY get together after I've squeezed every drop of patience from each and every one of you!! MUA HA HA!!  
  
Spider - Hi, my name is elfboylover. Thanks, and I will update! Sincerely, Moi (elfboylover) Lol  
  
AprilSummer - Thanks for updating on me! I promise that I'm gonna stick to this schedule as much as I can. I owe the readers big time!! ^_^  
  
IloveVeggieTales - Lol, my brother likes that show! I know what you mean about chapter four.. heh heh heh.. hope no one's gonna report that.. lol  
  
April - YAY! Thanks for the comment! So glad more people are reading this! 


	8. hello

~~ Hell-o!!!  
  
Sorry that there's not gonna be a chappy this week: I am bombarded with the will of the Supreme Being who sees to it that the laundry is washed, the health and history project are completed.. grr..  
  
Anyways, I'm sorry I didn't get the time to update. I hope you'll keep checking in sometime to see if I actually did write another chapter (cough!) lol. ^.^ 


	9. I'M BACK!

~HI! *Is attacked with flying monkeys and rampaging squirrels.  
  
Owie.. *struggles to stand up. Well, I guess I deserved that. _'. So sorry for the long drought! I was planning to update almost everyday since it was winter vacations and stuff, but jeez my brain decided to go on a shutdown all by itself.  
  
*THAT'S NO EXCUSE FOR NOT UPDATING FOR A MONTH!!!  
  
EEK!!!!!!!!!! *elfboylover being chased around by man-eating raccoons. Nature has a very cruel sense of humor..  
  
MUST READ THIS!!!!!!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Well, I'm trying to start a mailing list for you people should have a long time ago but damnit I'm just sooooo lazy, hehe. So if you could leave your email addresses in a review next time, I'll add it to a list in my tiny little hotmail account and write to you guys whenever I actually update.. which will be soon! Weak laugh ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* MUST READ THIS!!!!!!!!  
  
Oh screw this, R&R!!!!~  
  
  
  
They jumped in the car and hurried Mido to drive. Speeding past three traffic lights, the girls frantically shouted directions to turn. "Pull left, LEFT! No, the OTHER left!" Malon shrieked. "I'm trying!" Mido replied as he spun the driver's wheel and steered them through the streets. Several cars honked at them and people muttered curses while they quickly swerved away. The hospital's white building started to appear, and Saria screamed excitedly, "I see it! I see it!"  
  
At that moment, a police siren could be heard. "Would the driver of the Toyota please pull over for inspection?" said a voice through the loudspeaker. "Crap!" Mido muttered and began to park. "Mido!" Malon yelled, "What are you doing?!" "You think I'm just gonna let myself get arrested?" he answered and sighed in frustration. "I'll get as close as I can to the hospital, but you're gonna have to walk from there."  
  
"Good!" Malon said, "So STEP ON IT!" She bent over the passenger seat and pushed the accelerator with her hand. "What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Mido screamed as he tried to turn around every sharp corner. From behind them, the policeman was demanding them to stop or pay in full expense for speeding. "Damnit, Malon!" he cursed as he veered around another car, "My dad'll kill me if his car gets wrecked!"  
  
Malon looked at him incredulously. "This isn't your car?" she inquired with a hint of guilt. "Oh yea," Mido grumbled as he strained to turn the wheel, "So NOW we have some sentiment for the poor guy getting hijacked." "Stop here!" Saria suddenly blurted. Mido saw the parking lot and screeched on the brakes.  
  
The two girls ran out the door when the police siren got closer and finally stopped behind them. Malon turned back and patted Mido on the shoulder. "Good luck," she said and went after Saria to the hospital. Mido raised his hand in protest and let it fall in exasperation. He saw a face near the window and rolled it down to reveal the policeman.  
  
"Oh.." he said with a bleak smile, "Officer, how are you?"  
  
***  
  
There were several people waiting in line, but as if he had the time to wait for them. "Hey!" a woman cried out as Link nearly tripped on one of her children. "Sorry," he muttered and pushed his way to the front of the line.  
  
"Young man, get in line!" the security guard who had been following him said and grabbed for his arm. Link pulled away and placed his hands on the desk in front of a short balding man. "Tell me," he demanded, "If a girl with blonde hair got sent to the ER about an hour ago." One of the people waiting behind him began to shout. "Go wait at the end!"  
  
Link whipped his head back and bellowed, "SHUT UP!"  
  
The person and the security guard were both taken back. Link turned back to the man over the counter and looked at him expectedly. "Uh.. well," he stuttered and began searching through a stack of papers, "Let's see. Yes, I think there has been a previous car accident not too long ago."  
  
"Has she been identified?"  
  
"Her medical records say that her name is Ms. Zelda Harkinian. The patient's condition is still not clear yet but it should be a report in at about another hour or so."  
  
"I don't have that much time," Link said impatiently, "Could you tell me if she was okay when she got in?" "I-I'm not too sure," he answered, "I didn't get to see her for myself." Link sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, get me the doctor, do you know where he is?" "Let me see here," the man answered and typed in his computer, "It says that Doctor Tael and Tatl are both with her right now."  
  
"Where can I find them?"  
  
The man checked his papers and muttered to himself. "They should be in the ER wing, east side." "Thanks," Link replied and headed out. His chest was aching hard and his pace uneven and hurried, but like fuck he was gonna care. He stopped a few interns to ask directions, and they pointed out to the far right building.  
  
When Link went in, he recognized two girls. Malon's striking red hair and Saria's apple green weren't too hard to miss. They were pacing back and forth, Malon nearly wearing a hole into the ground. Link soundlessly sat down in a seat and grabbed a magazine, watching from over the top to see a young doctor come out from down the hall.  
  
Immediately Malon and Saria went over to question him. Link strained to hear, but their voices were low and murmuring. The doctor was nodding constantly and seemed extremely stressed in the increasing tone of his voice. Malon's words were becoming clearer as she began to talk in a raised voice. There was a pause of silence for a moment, when she cried in a loud outburst  
  
"What do you mean you can't perform a blood transfusion?!" Malon screeched, "This is a hospital, isn't it?!" "I'm sorry miss, you don't understand!" replied the equally irate doctor, "The patient's blood type is a negative O. It's best for the patient to have a previous donation, and it's risky for her immune system to accept blood from someone else in her current condition."  
  
"But will it work?" Saria asked, "It will work, right?" "Maybe," Dr. Tael responded, "however it depends on her immune system and also considering her frailty right now. We may have to give her a treatment to prevent any damage to the blood she's given until her body is recuperated enough to function normally."  
  
"So get a hold of the blood bank!" Malon yelled.  
  
"I'm sorry but at her rate it will be too late to get the sufficient amount that she needs!" the doctor screamed back.  
  
"Well what can you do?!" Saria demanded.  
  
The doctor let his hands fall to the side. "I'm sorry," he replied softly, "There's really.. really nothing we can do."  
  
Doctor Tael muttered his apologies and walked out with a grim expression. Malon covered her mouth with her hands, and Saria took her head and rested it against her shoulder. The two girls stood sobbing, their bodies heaving uncontrollably. Link silently stood up from his seat and passed by them quietly.  
  
He moved down the hall and peered through every door. 'Damnit,' he thought. Red hot pain grew from his eyes as he stifled them back and continued to see through every window. She was gonna die. There's nothing a pair of freaking medical professionals can do. She's going to die. She's gonna leave forever.. Zelda was going to die.  
  
"DAMNIT!"  
  
Link flipped over a cart of syringes and spilled it over the floor with a loud clatter. "Fucking HELL!" His sleek leather shoes cracked every syringe on the ground, spilling liquid on the ground. Link tossed the cart to the wall, sending a few nurses down the hall in terror. He kicked it and left it lying there with dents along the metal sides. His chest was congested with pain, and he stood motionlessly breathing slowly.  
  
"Hey, you!" a security guard shouted to him, "What do you think you're doing?! Get out of here!" Link walked away slowly down the hall. "Where are you going?" the guard demanded, "Get out of this hospital!" He started to march up to Link, and the young man turned his face towards him. "You-" the guard stopped in midway and froze.  
  
Link stared at him, feeling so fucking stupid and embarrassed. His eyes felt hot, he could hardly breathe, and somehow there were stains running cold down his cheeks. The guard was speechless and lowered his arms slowly. Link turned back and walked down the hall.  
  
He pulled opened a door where a nurse was inside checking on her clipboard. She was startled by his entrance and dropped her pen. "I want my blood tested," he said to her. "Sir," she started, "I'm sorry but you need to make a-"  
  
"NO! Give me a fucking blood test, NOW!"  
  
***  
  
"Great," Mido muttered, "thirty rupees for a speeding ticket? Jeez!" He tore up the receipt and let it fall to the ground. With a second thought, he doubled back and picked up the pieces of paper and threw them into the garbage can. No point in getting sent to jail for littering, either. He sighed as he headed towards the white building.  
  
Mido walked into the waiting room and scanned for the two girls. 'Now where..' he thought as he went through each face. Finally he spotted them. He didn't recognize them at first, and there was a good reason why. "Holy.." he started and trailed off.  
  
Malon and Saria were buried in each other's shoulders, Malon's face completely foreign. She wasn't the red head who'd pull them down the halls for the cafeteria's serving of chocolate mousse, who'd take someone by their faces with her hands and stare intently when she wanted to talk seriously. Saria was no better. All joy left her face, and her pixy face was distorted in the pain that was too unbearable to watch. Sometimes she'd sing to make herself feel better, especially right after they've taken a test in Math and she returned with an 89.  
  
But there was no singing today.  
  
There never will be, and he could see it in her eyes.  
  
"Mido," Malon's cracked voice murmured. He sat on his knees, and the two girls buried their heads in his chest. Mido placed his arms around their shoulders and hushed them. They sat there on the floor, not making any sound as agony rang in shrill tones in their ears.  
  
***  
  
Tatl stood by her younger brother as they looked at their patient from the window. "You told them, didn't you?" she said in a low voice. There was no answer as Tael sipped his mug of coffee. Dr. Tatl sighed and shook her head. "Damnit," she cursed, "That's what's wrong with this profession. We're not gods and it seems like the entire world forgets that."  
  
She drank her coffee slowly, and cast a sidelong glance at Tael. He was always the silent one, and she was the big sister role all wrapped up in a PhD. But there was no help when he was angry or worried. His expression was intense and sullen, and she never liked it when her baby brother had to think so hard it was out of character.  
  
"She's lost 45% of her blood," Tael said, "We have enough to cover only over half of that, we still need at least 18% left to cover the barest minimum chance of survival." "It's no use," Tatl said with bitterness, "There's no way we can get that enough from the national blood bank. At her rate, she'll be gone overnight." Tael looked on solemnly at the patient. There was nothing they could do.. he wish he had been lying but he wasn't. No one in the hospital had that blood type, it was rare indeed and they just don't have enough.  
  
It's not like them to lose a patient.  
  
They had been called miracle workers, but it seems that those titles were being blown away. He admitted to himself that he had never seen a person die, and he was afraid of this being the first one. As he ran the figures and options in his head, he finally felt it was entirely hopeless. This was it.  
  
There was a clattering of heels and the two doctor siblings looked down the hall to see a nurse come by with a clipboard. "Dr. Tael, Dr. Tatl!" she said with a look of excitement, "You recall in your request for blood?" They nodded and Tatl answered, "Thank you, but it's much too late to contact the blood bank now."  
  
"No, that's not what I meant," said the nurse, her eyes beaming, "I've recently done a blood scan for one of the people in the hospital. They're clean, and their type is also O." The two doctors nearly dropped their mugs. Tael reached for the clipboard and read the statistics. After he briefed through it, he looked at Tatl. "Well?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"They're clean," he answered, "but we need 18%. The safest amount anyone can donate is 14% of their blood volume. He's a male and one year older, but that still doesn't cover up for the extra 4%." "Should we take the risk?" Tatl asked him. The nurse edged herself in and retrieved her clipboard. "He's agreed earlier to donate as much as is needed," she said, "Shall I proceed with it?"  
  
The two doctors looked at each other tentatively. "Sis?" Tael asked her. Tatl slowly looked up from her mug and smiled. "Let's take the risk, they both might pull it off," she answered. Tael grabbed his sister in a bear hug and turned to the nurse. "Please, if he really is willing to do this then by all means."  
  
She nodded and went back down the hall.  
  
***  
  
Steve Whitner was woken up by a loud banging on his door. He grumbled and fumbled for his glasses, and after putting them on groggily stepped downstairs. There was a voice crying to be let in, and he could just as guess who it was. With a yawn, he scratched his head and wondered how Link must've lost his card out somewhere when he was probably with Vicky.  
  
"Come on in," he said to the person outside without even looking. "Thanks, where's Link?" "Huh?" Steve answered in confusion and stared at his visitor curiously, "What?" Red amber eyes and white hair began to stand out, and he realized it was Sheik. Sheik went inside and started shouting throughout the entire dorm.  
  
"Link! Yo, man! Get your ass out here, you bastard!"  
  
Steve ran over and stifled the screams with his hand. "Shh!" he chastised, "You're gonna wake everyone else up! And what do you mean, 'Where's Link?' " Sheik pulled himself away and shrugged. "It's like I said, my best pal and your night-fucking dorm buddy's not anywhere," he replied, "I even went to Vicky's but.. didn't get the answer I was looking for." A smile crossed over his face. "But man, that girl can do a job just right," he added suggestively.  
  
The other boy made a sound of disgust and Sheik laughed at his discomfort. "Ugh," Steve moaned, "Well I really have no idea where he is. Wasn't he with Vicky at all?" Sheik scoffed. "Yea, that's what he said to me," he answered, "but he wasn't there. All Vicky said was that he left all of a sudden after he took her back to her dorm, and well, we didn't really say much after that.."  
  
Steve shook his head and headed back upstairs. "Well," he declared, "he's officially lost. I don't know, he's probably out there in a bar or something." "Nah," Sheik retorted, "Link doesn't drink. Besides, I thought he'd be somewhere since his bike's gone too." "Bike?" Steve repeated sleepily, "Link has a bike?" "Oh yea," Sheik said, "It's sleek, dark red, and it's even a two-wheeler." He faked a tear and sniffled. "Aren't you so proud of our big boy?"  
  
"Oh shut up," Steve said, "I know what you mean. His motorcycle's gone?" Sheik stopped laughing and nodded. "Which means he went somewhere fast," he stated, "you can cut traffic with a bike and his series cuts dirt like a pro racer. So I thought he had something a lot fucking better to do than hang around with his best friend and came back later around tonight but," he stretched and laid down on the leather couch. Placing his arms behind his head, Sheik sighed comfortably and looked at Steve with a toothy grin.  
  
"I'll sleep over tonight and wait for him," he said. "Fine," Steve answered, "Whatever. Just don't wake me up, please. I have a test in Business tomorrow." "Don't worry!" Sheik hollered to him as he trudged up the stairs, "I'll naught make a noise to disturb yonder folk! Nay sir, whoever ruins the peace of the night will only be a lass fond of a few moments with this brave knave!"  
  
"Oh for Pete's sake, shut up!" Steve whipped back and finally sank into his bed. Sheik chuckled to himself and rolled his head over to the side. He stared into the dark quietly and sighed. "Damnit, Link," he muttered, "Where the hell are you?" After settling himself in, he finally closed his eyes. 'I hope I snore,' he thought deviously and fell asleep.  
  
***  
  
Link felt as if a ton of bricks decided to drop on his head without warning. When he tried to sit up, he wobbled and fell back down. "Oh fuck.." he groaned and placed a hand over a throbbing temple. He gave up trying to stand and looked around him. That's right, the hospital. He was at the hospital last night.. and he was in one of their customary cots after fainting.  
  
'Damn,' he thought painfully at recalling seeing the amount of blood in a large tube being shot up in a tiny needle through his arm. He was going to throw up at any moment before they were done taking out the blood, but he could tell from the nurse's face that she'd stop if he did. So all the vomit, bile, dizzy headaches spinning around in his mind and stomach was held in painfully until he felt the needle leave his skin. After that was a total blackout.  
  
He sighed slowly and saw a plate of cookies on the left side with a carton of lemonade. Suddenly a growl escaped from within, and he realized that he hadn't touched any food since lunchtime yesterday. He reached for a sugar cookie and began to eat it when a doctor came in. Link began to sit up when she held up her hand and motioned for him to lie back down.  
  
"I'm Dr. Tatl," she said, "I wanted to thank you for the donation you made." Link swallowed the cookie and inquired, "Is she going to be alright?" Dr. Tatl smiled and nodded. "She's still not conscious yet, but we've been detecting vital signs and that's a signal for recovery," she answered. Link nodded and finished the cookie. "Cool," he said and finally forced himself up, "So, I'm just gonna leave right now."  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute," the doctor said and stepped in front of him, "We still need some information from you. Your state from last night is not to be taken lightly and-" "Dr. Tatl!" one of the interns came in abruptly, "Your patient, there's something wrong!" "What?" the doctor rushed out of the room. Link followed her as they hurried down the hall.  
  
Dr. Tael was inside instructing all the nurses and aides in keeping track of temperature and any important signs. "What's wrong with her?" Dr. Tatl demanded her brother. Tael took her aside to the monitor, where Zelda's pulse was being taken. Link went over to Zelda's cot and looked down at her. She was incredibly pale, almost frozen. He slowly reached out and parted her hair, stroking a cheek.  
  
'Come on, Zel,' he thought encouragingly, 'I've practically fainted like a fucking idiot last night. You're not gonna make that all for nuthin.' "She's flat-lining!" someone called out. Link looked up. Dr. Tatl saw him and pulled him away. "I'm sorry," she said, "But you'll have to go." "No!" he objected as all the nurses and aides shoved him out the door. "Please, leave!" Dr. Tatl said and finally closed the door. "Let me in!" Link pounded on the door and screamed, "What's wrong with her?! Tell me what's wrong!! YOU ASSHOLES, LET ME IN!!"  
  
  
  
~Well, that's it for now. Was gonna write a lot more about how Link's handling it, but since I was pressed for an update real soon I couldn't possibly drag it on any further! EEP! It's gonna be another little cliffhanger, but please don't impale me!! *dodges a barrage of arrows being shot at her. ~_~'. I'm trying to "finish" this chappy and update again sometime along tomorrow or New Year's, so feel free to keep checking in!~  
  
*Reviews, wow! I can't believe people are still reading this!! Sniff. ^_^  
  
Face - Gee, thanks! Ooh, btw, I bet your comment would be much appreciated for the Folgers coffee making company, j/k ^.^ I hope you'll keep checking in on me, and yea.. definitely more often updates.. (  
  
Carley - thank you! I'm trying to stick to that promise, can't lose track of time and FORGET to write now, can we? Lol  
  
Rene - Sniff, once every other week! Is that too much to ask from little moi? ~_~  
  
Sherrilynn - hehe, sry I never revealed how her condition is right now. For all we know, it might get WORSE and she might *gasp! Hehe, eeevvilll little elf.. ~.^  
  
Chelsea - oops.. HONDA, got it. And haha, are you really gonna run me over? *side glance nervously. Oh great, I'll never walk out on the street by myself again. Lol  
  
A_troubled_girl - oh yea, link is just SO fine!!! *drooooooolll... lol and yea, I'm planning to get something for Kafei soon, not in a nice way. ^_^  
  
MoonRider - AHH!!! NOO, DON'T HURT MEE!!!!  
  
Tushoyami - ooh, it's u! cool sn, me likey!  
  
Rai Dorian - WOW! Your own WEBSITE?! I could never make one of those things, I'm educationally challenged. Lol, thanks for the offer! I'm gonna submit my first chappy there as soon as I'm done updating here!  
  
Dbzgirl03 - thank you!! As to the end..well, I like prolonging things for a LOONG time to see if you guys still wanna find out if they even get together at all. Hehe ~_^  
  
Spider - RLOL  
  
Nanali - sniff, thank you! *of course I feel extremely down now that people are getting real pissed at me, I'M SO SORRY!! (  
  
MoonRider - lol, wow.  
  
Rai Dorian - Thanks for waiting! *hope it was worth it! *crosses fingers  
  
Sherrilynn - that's right! I didn't update for THREE weeks just for the suspense! Aye.. I should stop trying to find excuses and just admit that I'm lazy, lol  
  
ButterflyCate - lol, thank you! I'm getting to the part where Link's.. well, you don't wanna know NOW, do ya? ^.^  
  
IloveVeggieTales - wow, really? Thanks!!!!  
  
Brandy - lol, I'll see what I'll make Zelda end up in.. like a coma *gets hit in the face. Oww.  
  
Kitty - I did, did you like it? I hope I hope I hope!! ^_^  
  
Trunks chan - domo arrigatou!!!  
  
Flame Thrower - heheheh, well I'll see that doesn't happen again!! ^.^ 


	10. uh happy late new year! :

~YES!! NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION COMPLETED!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHHAHAA!!!!  
  
Lol, see, I promised and I DID update! Just..not at the promised time because of fanfiction.net, but hey! Newayz, a lot of stuff I like to announce before you start reading. *BOO!! Hehe, it won't take too long.. promise.. *crosses fingers.  
  
First of all, I wanna remind peeps to put their email addresses in a review for the mailing list. If you haven't done so already or aren't very sure if you did, please do so!!!  
  
Also, I'm sending pics of RL characters that I've drawn to Rai Dorian's site. The URL is http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/rai/ Go on, sign the guest book, make rude comments about my art ~_~' (much expected, lol) I'll probably get a pic done in a few days, but don't expect great quality!! ^.^  
  
Oh yea!  
  
There's some really weird new thing I've tried in this chappy, so I'm warning you in case it gets confusing. I've put in a song near the end (it's kinda for an atmosphere thing) so the words that come after a ~*~*~*~ are actually the lyrics to the song. I hope you like it, it's from Switchfoot and it's a really sweet song in my opinion..  
  
So.. go ahead and read if you still wanna. It's about 16 pages long.. I overdid it this time. ^_^  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There was a loud knock on Kafei's door. He placed down his comb and walked downstairs, and opened it to see Mikau. "Hey man," he said and let him inside, "what's up?" Mikau didn't say a word and sat down on a chair. Kafei raised his eyebrows slightly in suspicion. Mikau was a nice guy.. so why'd he look kinda pissed all of a sudden? Kafei strutted over and sat on the opposite chair of his friend. He leaned over and looked at Mikau expectedly.  
  
When they stayed that way for about a minute, Kafei sighed and scratched his head. "You know that Zelda's in a hospital, right?" Mikau suddenly stated. Kafei turned his head towards him and gave Mikau a long look. "What?" He didn't answer, but continued to stare into blank space. "Mikau, dude," Kafei reached and turned his head over to him, "what happened to her?"  
  
"Don't touch me," he answered.  
  
Kafei let him go, and slid back to his seat. "Mikau," he began, "why you all pissed?" His friend leaned forward in his chair and sighed. "Sorry," he replied softly, "I'm not mad at you. It's just.. I don't know." "Well," Kafei said, "you could at least tell me what's wrong with her." Mikau leaned his head back. "She's been in a car accident," he responded, "The doctors said that she was gonna be okay, but then something went wrong and she's slipping away."  
  
"Damn," Kafei muttered and eased in his chair, "well no wonder she didn't come to the lake last night. Great, and I was so ready.." It happened so fast he might not have dodged it. Kafei's breaths were stuttered and anxious as he stared up at Mikau whose fist just barely missing the side of his skull. The dreaded look on Mikau's face was nearly demonic, tainted without compassion and seething with wrath.  
  
"You bastard.." Mikau growled. "Mikau," Kafei grunted and slid himself up, "What's with you?! You trying to send ME to the ER?!" He stared at Mikau's expression and slowly began to grin. Mirthlessly, he chuckled and ended up laughing uproariously. "So that's it!" he wheezed, "That's what! It's about Romani again, huh? Jeez, Mikau," Kafei said through splits of laughter, "you're not gonna hold something that happened last year against me, now are you?"  
  
Mikau raised himself up and began to walk out of the dorm. "Hey," Kafei shouted, "Hey! You step out that door and we're finished! You got that?! There's never gonna be a you and me, old buddy. It's done!" Mikau stopped and turned around. "Man," he replied, "It ended long before you knew it." With that he left the door and walked down the hall.  
  
***  
  
*"Get me the readings," a slurred voice spoke, "Where's the report? I need at least three syringes filled, nurse, and hurry!" There were people moving.. their motions were blurred and their speeches couldn't be discerned. How did she end up here? Why were they there? "Doctor, her pulse is failing!" one of the other bodies spoke. "Damnit! I need the report from the previous scan, who's gotten it for me?!" "There's still some brainwaves, but their frequency is low." "Why is there not any readings on her heart rate?! Someone tell me her heart rate!" The bodies were swirling faster. It was making the place too confusing and far too dizzy. She began to feel lightheaded.. her thoughts weren't being clear to her. This place was too chaotic, they said to her. Let's leave.. there's no point in staying. What other is there other than misery and suffering? The voices gathered in a noise too cluttered to hear, illogical buzzing of the thousands of thoughts that filled her mind.  
  
*Then Someone spoke to her. Someone's voice became louder than the others.  
  
*She found herself standing in a courtyard, where the gray walls stood proudly high around her and the empty expanse of clear blue sky was above. Yellow butterflies darted among the flowers that grew in bountiful clusters around the little ring of water surrounding the courtyard. She blinked and looked around her, feeling the dull weight of a tiara circling her forehead. The dress she wore was light, and in the front had a dark purple piece that was embroidered with strangely familiar symbols.  
  
'This is where you are headed,' the voice stated, 'This is where you'll be.'  
  
*Her eyes rested on another figure on the other side of the courtyard. Green.. all she could tell was green.  
  
'You will finally come home,' the voice continued, 'This is where you will finally be. This is where you belonged.'  
  
*She closed her eyes and felt arms wrapping themselves around her. They were warm, and she protested. The arms held her tighter to another body, and soon a face buried itself into her neck. Soon she stopped struggling. This felt more right.. THIS was where she belonged.  
  
"So, your name's Zelda?" the person from behind said to her.  
  
*She opened her eyes. The green figure at the end of the courtyard had disappeared. Those words were spoken to her before. The same voice. The same warmth.. suddenly she felt her cheek tingle in a strange sensation.  
  
*The world around her faded, and left only pure blank light. Slowly the arms released her, and she turned. She couldn't distinguish their features, the light surrounding them like a halo. They raised a hand and reached out for her.. she finally knew where she had to go.  
  
*She reached for their hand.  
  
***  
  
They had slept over the hospital that night, waiting for Dr. Tatl or Tael to update them on Zelda's latest condition. Malon smacked her lips and nudged herself closer to Nabooru's arm. There was a light snore coming from Mido as he and Saria were both leaning against each other's shoulder. It was about 2 A.M in the morning, but the lights were still on and people were still coming in and out of the hospital doors.  
  
"Mmm," Saria mumbled, "Someone close the window, it's cold.." She felt a hand shaking her shoulder, and she objected it with a whine. The hand shook her harder, and with a loud frustrated yell Saria connected her fist with a face. She opened her eyes, and saw for a moment Dr. Tael on the ground holding his nose.  
  
"Oh my gods!" she screamed, "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" Dr. Tael mumbled something and attempted a painful smile. Mido sat up and then Malon and Nabooru woke along with him. Saria was covering her mouth in horror and repeating apologies in rapid speed. "It's quite," Dr. Tael said and winced slightly, "Alright."  
  
Malon stood up and walked towards him. "Well?" she asked, "How is she?" Dr. Tael wiped a bit of blood from his nose with a handkerchief and sniffled. "She's on her road to recovery," he said with a smile. Nabooru hugged Malon tightly while Saria grabbed Mido and began jumping up and down excitedly. "But," Dr. Tael added solemnly, "She slipped into a coma. We don't know how long it will last, and there is still a chance that her injuries might rebound. However, right now the signs are still good."  
  
"Can we at least see her?" Nabooru asked. Dr. Tael nodded and added, "Of course, I trust you would not try to wake her. She still needs rest." "Thank you, doctor," Mido said with a smile as the three other girls dragged him off with one arm.  
  
Nabooru reached the door first, and swung it open. Malon, Saria, and Mido being tugged went in and she slipped inside. They crowded around her bed, and Saria held Zelda's hand. She smiled lightly. "She feels warm," she said softly, "That's good." Mido nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "She'll be fine," he muttered. They sat down, watching and waiting. Nabooru placed a hand on Zelda's forehead and sniffed.  
  
"Nabby?" Malon asked, "What's wrong?" Nabooru looked up and smiled instantly. "Nothing," she replied, "I just feel guilty.. I still think I should have asked her how she was. I think I should have been there for her, I had a chance to stop it from happening. But I'm always so slow in catching up to these kind of things, and then someone I care about gets hurt." Malon felt confused, and then saw Nabooru's tear-rimmed eyes staring at her.  
  
She understood, and thought of the scars she still held from that day in the locker. "Oh, Nabby," she murmured, "It wasn't your fault." She reached over and hugged her, and Nabooru cried into her shoulder. Saria and Mido both looked at each other in confusion, but left the two of them alone. Nabooru held on to Malon and let her tears dry up. "Don't ever think that way," Malon whispered, "It wasn't your fault." Nabooru closed her eyes.  
  
It wasn't her fault.. so how come she couldn't help but wonder: Would it have happened if he wasn't her brother?  
  
***  
  
Sheik chewed quietly as he looked at Link for the.. oh hell, some crappy thousandth time since he finally dragged him back from the hospital. "Come on," he said and pushed the plate of Hylian hoagies towards his friend, "Eat sumthin." Link continued to stare blankly at the ground, his hands clamped together. Sheik looked from him to the plate of food. "Alright," he said, "If you ain't eatin I'll eat it!" He faked a grab for the hoagies, and missed by half an inch to swipe thin air.  
  
Link's expression was unmoved.  
  
Sheik sighed and let himself fall into the chair. He wiped his face with his hands and moaned, "Man, Link. I can't believe a guy would pass up a chance at food like that! So," he sat up and leaned towards him, "You ready to tell me why you were at the hospital?" Link looked at him and then returned to looking at the ground. Sheik muttered a curse and played with a piece of lint.  
  
"Ya know," he started, "Professor Rauru's kinda fat." He turned to look at Link, but there was still no reaction. Sheik frowned and looked at Link, puzzled. It's not that Link wasn't smart or anything, but he wasn't used to seeing him think that hard. Especially around him, loyal best pal and friend of a long fucking faithfulness since he had stolen Ganon's lunch money and split it between them in the girl's bathroom. Sheik grinned at the memory, but stopped when he saw Link's face.  
  
He groaned and shifted himself in the sofa. "You really should eat something," he said, "Seeing how you gave like two pints of blood to that New Girl." Link suddenly jerked and slowly began to smile. "I thought you didn't know," he muttered. 'Well,' Sheik thought to himself, 'when you get your ass busted for breaking into some rooms, it's hard not to hear about stuff.' He had asked quite a few nurses, and one of them told him about the blood donation by a recent donor to Zelda Harkinian. Sheik grinned and flopped to his side. "Ya like her, don't ya?" he said with a smirk.  
  
The reaction was timeless.  
  
"Oh come on, dude!" Link said with a splitting smile, "Are you fucking serious?!" Sheik enjoyed the way Link couldn't look at him and started glancing from his hands to the door. "I mean, really," Link continued, "She's a little asshole! Gods, she's a freaking ditz just cause she's blonde! I mean like, screwing her, why would I?! That girl's so ass-fucking annoying! She's got no cup size good enough for it, and.. and.. JEEZ!!"  
  
Link laughed in forced strains and looked at Sheik curiously. "Yo man," he said uncomfortably, "Watcha staring at?" Sheik smiled slowly. "What?" Link asked and looked around him, "What?" Sheik shook his head, and continued smiling. "Damnit, Sheik, what is it?!"  
  
"Your ears are really red," he said finally.  
  
They stared at each other for a long time. Sheik finally snorted and ended up laughing hysterically. Link frowned and tried to stifle his grin but joined him soon later. The two of them rolled over their stomachs bawling in laughter until their chests and muscles couldn't take it anymore. "Aw fuck this," Sheik said through fits of giggles, "Fucking fuck fuck fuck!" Link burst in an aching bellow of laughter and lay down on his back. They sighed and slowly regained their breaths.  
  
"Man, Sheik," Link said after they had finally calmed down, "You.. are the most fucking crazy ass-fucking fucker I've ever met." "Haha," Sheik answered with a grin and flipped on his stomach and stared at Link. "So," he said, "you gonna ask her out any time soon?" Link's smile disappeared and he sat up. "Naw," he replied, "she's going out with Kafei." "Oh.." Sheik said quietly, "Damn, sorry dude."  
  
He found it hard to look at Link's expression. It hurts to look at him now. It was.. damn, that really sucked. Sheik cleared his throat and pushed the plate of hoagies under Link's nose. "If you're gonna faint again I'm dead sure New Girl wouldn't want you after that," he said half-jokingly. Link smiled and shoved him away as he took a hoagie and bit into it. Sheik took the other hoagie and they both sat eating quietly.  
  
***  
  
Mikau stopped by the hospital on his way back to campus, and closed the door to his car. He strode up the steps and looked at the room number Malon had given him. Passing by a few other people, he made his way down the hall and found Zelda's room. He reached for the door and paused. A number of thoughts rushed through his mind. This was like the other day.  
  
Romani. She had been in one of these rooms. Just seeing the hospital again made him sick. He thought of her pain, the long hours he sat by her side waiting to see if she would wake up. In his mind he saw himself walk into the door countless times, waiting and sitting for days. No.. never again should he have to remain in the pain she left him with.  
  
Mikau's face turned bitter. He didn't regret his encounter with Kafei that morning. It was bound to happen someday, and fate had a humor to make this day for it to smack them both in the face.  
  
He turned and walked back down the hall. There was someone else walking towards his direction, and Mikau thought briefly that he recognized him. He hesitated and looked back as the blond young man passed by him, and stared at his back. The young man opened the door to Zelda's room and went in. Mikau shook his head out of doubt, and went on his way.  
  
'It couldn't be him,' he thought as he turned on the engine, 'he wouldn't be here.' He pulled out of the driveway and drove back to campus.  
  
***  
  
Professor Rauru frowned at the thought of Ms. Harkinian in the hospital, as told by both Malon and Saria. A young lady so polite and consistent didn't deserve such a horrendous incident in her life. They attempted to contact her father, but was given notice to have left his home and they could not reach him to tell him the condition of his daughter.  
  
The professor sighed as the warning bell rang, and was doubled back in surprise to see Sheik already heading towards the classroom. "Hey, Rauru!" he said with a grinning smile and took his seat. The professor was speechless for a moment. Not only was Sheik on time, but Link wasn't anywhere in sight. From his previous experiences, the two were inseparable as the atoms he taught during class. It was as if the sun commenced over a twenty-four hour period without the moon.  
  
He blinked to himself and shook his head. He was getting old, that was for sure. As he stood by the door waiting for Link to appear, Sheik called out from his desk. "Yo, prof!" he said, "Link ain't gonna be here today. Got a note from the doc's saying he's staying in bed for a few days." Sheik walked up to Professor Rauru and handed him a paper from the Zoran Foundation Hospital.  
  
"Oh, uh," Rauru replied as he took the paper and skimmed it, "Thank you, Sheik." "Yea and uh," Sheik ran a hand through his white-blond hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "He um, wants me to get him the uh.. the uh - home- home-" "Homework?" the professor asked skeptically. Sheik clapped his hands and pointed it at him in gun-style. "Yea, that," he said with a grin, "So like, if you could kinda' hand them to me in a bunch or something and I'll make sure the sick little boy gets it."  
  
Professor Rauru simply stared after Sheik as he sat back down. He remained in the same state past the bell, before the class hushed and began to wonder in perplexity how their professor could be frozen standing in the middle of the classroom. The professor blinked several times and cleared his throat. "Now um," he began and walked towards his chair, "Would we please begin?" He sighed and muttered as he flipped through his plans. Old age.. there must be symptoms where a person begins to hallucinate from time to time.  
  
***  
  
Vicky pouted and turned her lip up at Link. "What do you mean you have to go?" she whined, holding on to his hand, "You've been leaving like that for days. Can't you take a break and have some real fun?" He smiled as she advanced and cornered him against the wall. Slipping her arms around his neck, she slowly trailed her lips from across his neck to kiss him. "Mmm," Link mumbled and pulled away lightly, "I just gotta go, baby. There's a lot of crap I have to take care of."  
  
She moaned and lifted her thigh against his leg. "When are you coming back?" she asked with a upturned smile, "I'll leave my dorm open for you.." She reached down and flirted with him boldly. Link chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "Maybe sometime," he replied, "besides, I've been feeling like shit. If we're gonna fuck I want it to be good." Vicky giggled and swung her hips forward. "It's always good," she teased. He smiled and lifted her off of him.  
  
"Call me when you're feeling better," Vicky said with a wink and left for her dorm. Link nodded lightly and went down the hall. He left the dormitory and headed for the parking lot. There, waiting with a sleek crimson shine under the moon, was his motorcycle. He placed the helmet on his head and flipped his keys in the air before catching it. With a start, the engine came to life, and he rode out of the school.  
  
The wind past breezes through the openings of his shirt, and he passed through the streets easily. He took the shortest route possible, practically memorized it front and back he could find the white building blindfolded. This was his routine for the past week, during lunch, before school, after play, and during the periods he had to dodge both Ganon and Vicky. Link parked the bike and shut off the engine, took off his helmet and left it as he headed towards the hospital.  
  
"Oh," said a nurse with a smile, "Hello, Link." "Hi," he replied and tried to hide himself as he made his way through the hall. Damn, now people started recognizing him. He stopped by the vending machine to get a soda, then went inside the room quietly. Closing the door cautiously, he made his way to what was officially his seat. He opened the can and started to drink, looking at Zelda's calm face almost half expectedly.  
  
Clearing his throat, he settled back and started to read some magazines. At short periods he'd glance up to see if she'd make any motion. Paging through weight loss programs and family recipes, he placed the magazine back on the rack and leaned forward. He tapped his fingers against his knuckles and eased his back muscles that were beginning to feel sore. Finally, he sighed and stood up.  
  
Walking over to her side, he kneeled on the ground and placed his arms on the bed. Resting his chin, he continued to look and waited. The only sounds were the monitors keeping record of her pulse and vital signs. They made that damn fucking beep every one and a third second, and he wondered why the hospital couldn't try to get the quiet ones.  
  
Link blinked to keep his eyes opened. Time was passing slowly, but he had already been here for over an hour. It was nearly midnight, and the lights to the rooms were dimmed. He reached out slowly and touched her face. An amusing picture came to his mind of how she looked so startled that time when he whispered her poem into her ears during English. He smiled and chuckled at the memory, thinking how little blonde might react if she suddenly woke up and saw him there.  
  
He suddenly felt.. sad. What the fuck, sad? What just happened there? Link frowned to himself and edged closer to her face. Just what about this girl made him do all those crazy things for no reason? His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned even closer. Their skins were nearly touching, but he felt he had to see if she was as soft as she looked. He took his hand and ran it through her cascade of blonde hair. Yet she made no motion, no sign at all that showed any awareness of him even there.  
  
If she had been awake.. he thought with a smirk, but the smile disappeared quickly. What if she didn't wake up? Like a Snow White or one of those damn fairy tale princesses who didn't open their eyes until some bastard in a cheap prince get-up came over and kissed her. And it had to be some crazy ass thing like an everlasting love sort of deal or it wouldn't work, at least that's what he thought how it worked.  
  
He rested his head against the pillow next to her. So does that really work? It was just some shit parents feed to their kids in believing that the world was all happy lovey-dovey sunshine and rainbows but.. Still. Still.. he was going against all the stuff they teach in school against one word. There was just something.. still.. still there.. that said it was gonna be okay. Link leaned over, feeling the cool silky waves of her hair on top of the pillow.  
  
Easing himself up slowly, he stared down at her face. Zelda made no movement.. she just looked peaceful and gentle all at the same time. Link lowered his head slowly, feeling overwhelming warmth surge inside him. "Sleep well," he murmured, "princess."  
  
He closed his eyes and kissed her.  
  
***  
  
Malon pulled Saria's covers off of her. "Come on!" she screamed, "Get up!" Saria mumbled, "Huh? But there's still a half an hour before school starts." "No!" Malon retorted and dragged her up, "We need to get to the hospital! Zelda's awake!" Saria stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at her in amazement. "What?!"  
  
They shoved Mido into the car and hurried him to drive down the empty streets. Without looking, they ran into Zelda's room, where the blonde was sitting up and drinking a bowl of soup. Zelda looked up and smiled at them warmly. "Good morning," she said in a soft voice. They beamed at her, and Malon ran forward.  
  
"Zelda!" she cried with tears leaking out of her eyes, "Don't you EVER do that to us again!" Saria jumped in and Zelda laughed as she held them both in a bear hug. They sat in bliss when Dr. Tatl and Tael walked in. Zelda saw them and thanked them quietly. "No," Dr. Tatl replied, "don't overuse your voice. We're happy that you're alright." Malon leaped and hugged the two doctors. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she said hysterically.  
  
Tatl and Tael, both slightly overwhelmed, laughed and humbly objected. "She can go back now," Tael added, "But I suggest that she waits a day before going back to her normal schedule." They were then ushered out for Zelda to prepare herself for leaving. After several minutes, they left the hospital in Mido's car.  
  
"Here," Malon instructed when they brought Zelda to her dorm, "Get some sleep, and I'm leaving you some Power Bars for a snack just in case." Zelda started to protest when Saria hushed her. "Nuh uh," she said firmly, "Remember, until you can sing well enough again to kick Ruto's sorry little ass in play audition, you're not gonna use that voice of yours." "Go and rest," Mido encouraged, "We'll be in class, and if you need anything call me by my cell."  
  
Zelda smiled and nodded towards them. "Okay," Malon said with a smile, "Now we gotta run. We're at least fifteen minutes late for first class, and I just told Rauru I was going to help him with the lab. Bye Zelda!" "We'll be here after school!" Saria called out as they sprinted down the hall. Zelda waved at them and walked inside her dorm. It was left in the same way as she remembered, however some things shifted in Vicky's presence.  
  
She took off the jacket Malon gave to her. All her clothes had been stained with blood, and she felt a hot bath would be most relaxing. Zelda walked up the steps, feeling a bit more refreshed than she had before. She smiled to herself about that dream last night. It had been anything but possible, but she remembered the warmth and a feeling of contentment. But, she decided, dreams are just dreams.  
  
***  
  
"Yea," Kafei said to a few guys while they did push-ups during Gym, "My girl's gonna be back tomorrow." "Cool," one of them replied, "so what are you planning to do?" Kafei grinned and looked at him suggestively. The group burst out in jeers when Kafei shook his head. "Actually," he remarked, "I'm gonna play it smooth for a while. Say junk and do stuff that'll make her melt for me." "Jeez, man," another boy said, "the girl was in a hospital. Ya think she's gonna let you go after that?"  
  
"Yo, watch out," added one of the other guys, "She'll come after you with fangs growin' out of her mouth and send you to where she just came from. I'm fucking serious dude, that little bitch will chew you and spit you right out." Kafei chuckled with the rest of them, when a steel dumbbell flew right across his face. "What the?!" he cried and rolled back, "Who threw that?!" A tall blond stepped out flexing a twenty pounder in his right hand. "Sorry, dude," he called out, "damn thing slipped out of my hand."  
  
Kafei watched as.. Link, that was who it was, reached forward and picked up the dumbbell. Link paused and tilted his head towards Kafei sitting with his elbows propping him up. "What's up?" he said and walked away. When he left, a few of the guys around Kafei crept towards him. "Yo man," one of them said, "You alright?" "Yea I'm alright!" Kafei said hotly. "You gotta be careful, dude," said another one, "Link and Ganon aren't the bastards to mess around with."  
  
He looked at them with a scowl. "Who said I was messin' with one of them?" he demanded, "Besides, it slipped from his hand. And it was probably like, less than five pounds, so what's the deal?" Before anyone could say anymore, Kafei stood up and went to take a drink from the water fountain. Now that he thought about it, there had been some really fucked up times when Link almost tripped him over the stairs a few days ago.  
  
Kafei drank and recalled the other incident where Link almost ran him over on his bike in the school parking lot.. but he said it was cause his light wasn't on and he didn't see him going to his car. Someone caught his eye, and he lifted his head to see Link in the far corner with weight slung to each arm as he practiced on a punching bag. The blond paused for a moment and waved at Kafei, flashing a generous smile towards him. Kafei turned back and continued to drink from the fountain.  
  
'That dude is starting to freak me out,' he thought, 'whatever I did, it's like he's trying to jump me and make it into some no-shit accident.' He wiped his mouth and headed back to the mats. "Watch out!" Kafei turned and was hit in full force by a punching bag. "Aw.." he moaned and slowly sat up from the ground. "Hey," Link walked over and offered a hand, "You alright man? I must've punched it too hard or sumthin'."  
  
"Yea," Kafei said through a bloody nose, "It's alright." He ignored Link's hand and walked out hurriedly. 'That's it!' he thought in terror, 'That bastard IS trying to kill me!' He ran a excuse to Ingo to Nurse Cremia, and began to leave the Gym when Link and a few of his buddies stopped him. "Yo, Kafei," Link said to him apologetically, "I'm sorry for what happened back there. Do you- are you.. are you bleeding?"  
  
"No," Kafei answered quickly and wiped the blood from his nose to his shirt. "Jeez," Link replied and tilted his head to look at him, "You really are bleeding!" Link sighed and reached out, "Here, let me take you to the Nurse." "NO!" Kafei screamed in terror, and soon the Gym was hushed in quiet. "I mean uh," Kafei looked around him and shook his head rapidly, "It's fine. I can go by myself."  
  
Link shook his head in disappointment and clicked his tongue. "Come on, bro," he offered benevolently, "I'll make sure you go to the Nurse." 'Yea, I KNOW you do,' Kafei thought frantically. "It's alright," he sputtered, "I just wanna go aliv- alone. So, thanks anyway." He dashed out of the Gym before Link could follow.  
  
"What the hell did I do to have Link after my carcass?!" Kafei cursed as he sprinted down the halls. He muttered to himself and went inside Nurse Cremia's office.  
  
***  
  
Sheik looked at Link strangely as his best pal was humming to himself nearly.. all day. "Yo man.." he asked slowly, "Whatever you got high off of, get me some too." "Hmm?" Link turned to him and grinned, "What'd you say?" Sheik craned his head and stared into the light blue eyes. "You all right, dude?" he inquired. Link scoffed and gave him a weird look. "Yea," he said with a smile, "What's your problem?" Sheik raised an eyebrow in suspicion.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Sheik man," Link replied, "I'm fine!" "Okay.." Sheik answered and placed a hand on Link's forehead. "Hey!" Link objected as his friend pressed him down with a hand, "What are you doing?" "I'm checking your temperature," Sheik replied with his other hand over his own forehead. He frowned and let go. "You have the same temperature as me," he said, "But I'm not sure if that's a good thing."  
  
Link laughed and shoved him away. "What makes you think I'm sick?" he asked. "Well," Sheik sat cross-legged and looked at him, "One: you've been smiling like a goofy idiot ever since Science. Two: you actually DID the homework for all the classes you've been out for. And my very own personal favorite number three." He leaned forward towards Link with a dark glare.  
  
"YOU'VE BEEN SINGING 'TOMORROW, TOMORROW' FOR THE HUNDRETH FUCKING TIME ALL DAY!!" he bellowed, "Not that I'm saying that you can't sing but JEEZ, YOU SUCK!!" Link split into wild laughter at Sheik's reddening expression. "If you wanted me to stop you could've told me yourself, asshole," he replied.  
  
Sheik bit into his lip from pounding on him. "I was on my knees BEGGING you to shut the hell up!" he yelled, "Gods, man, what's gotten into you?" Link continued to grin and just shrugged. "I don't know," he said with a toothy smile. Sheik moaned and held his face with his hands. "Really," he mumbled, "it's cause New Girl's coming back 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow' right?" He looked at Link expectedly, who only turned away with a huge smirk.  
  
"That's it, right?" he said with a smile, "she's gonna be in school and you're just all high up in the air with your little pink cherubs and fluffy cloud people. Then you're gonna go all big 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow-and-gods-I- HATE-that-song' to impress her and sweep her up to your happy little lollipop kingdom where you'll make her your Lollipop Queen." Link cracked up and looked at him. "Sheik," he said, grinning, "what did you inhale?"  
  
Sheik stood up and casually ran a hand through his white-blond hair. "It's not chemicals," he said in a dramatic voice, "I possess the heavenly potential to be what all ladies dream of, but instead I try and help the little people like you who try to reach my status." Link threw a pillow at him and laughed. "Get off it," he said as Sheik snickered and fell down to the sofa.  
  
"So," Link said slowly, "what do you think I should get her?" Sheik paused and looked at him. "Get her?" he repeated, "You going out to buy something?" Link shrugged and nodded. "I'm not sure," he said, "I mean, yea. The stores' never closed and I can get down to buy at least sumthin.." "No, no, no, no," Sheik said and stood up again, "No. No, man, you don't just GET her something unless it was cause you two were going out or you're friends. You'll be blowing it all away if you do, and ha, the girl just got out of a coma and she'll think that Lollipop Land hit her full in the head."  
  
He squatted next to Link and looked him in the eye. "No," he said, "Just.. ya know.. lay low for a while. Play it cool, make it subtle." He paused and made a queer look. "Hey why am I giving advice?" he asked, "You've got it going on with Vicky and I'm still stuck with Marin. Shit." Link laughed and pushed the grinning Sheik down to the ground. "Still," he said, "I just wanna get her something nice. I don't know.. hell, I've must've had some fucked up shit last night." "Well," Sheik said and scooted himself over, "If you really wanna do this.. you could kinda get her a early Christmas present. It's what.. yikes.. it's still not December yet. Right.."  
  
Sheik uncrossed his legs as Link looked at him expectedly. "Damn," he muttered, "I just don't know. I guess it really counts on where you want this thing to go. I mean, sure if you really want to.. oh hell I'm giving myself a headache." He laid back and laughed as Link chuckled. "So.. what do you think she'll like?" he asked.  
  
"Oh I dunno," Sheik replied, "girls.. they like jewelry, money, roses, and if you give them enough they'll even start liking you." He smirked and looked at Link. "You could try some of those stores down the old Market," he suggested, "They've got cool shit. The town's got this big mall, that should be good too." "Yea," Link said thoughtfully, "thanks, man." He stood up and reached for his jacket. "Whoa, whoa," Sheik stood up and followed, "You going out now?" "Yup," Link replied and went out the door.  
  
His friend sighed and scratched his head. "If you don't mind," he said, "I'll leave you to do it yourself. I gotta go see Malon about our Science project.. how do I always get stuck with her?" Link patted him on the back as Sheik saw him out the door. Sheik waved good-bye to Link, giving him a thumbs up encouragement. Link grinned and left down the hall.  
  
Sheik went in and raided his fridge, thinking about his buddy. He really was fucking unpredictable at times, and hell it's sad not a lot of people know how a shy dude Link could be. He grinned at the prospect of seeing Link, in a tight little sailor's outfit complete with a bow tie and tiny little cap, holding out a bunch of roses with red cheeks and kicking the dirt bashfully. 'Ha,' he thought as he grabbed his jacket while walking out the door, 'good luck, buddy.'  
  
***  
  
Link couldn't imagine how many stores there were in the mall. Maybe it's cause he hated going to these things, but as he stood there he realized how large it was. The shoppers walking around him seemed to know exactly where they were going, like they were hibernating here during the winter and were navigating through a sixth sense. He sighed and looked at the map. "Crap," he thought. There had to be fifty different jewelry stores there, over seventy floral shops, and who knows how many gods-damned clothing stores.  
  
He stuffed it in his coat pocket and decided to go for the closest stores and thereon. The first stop was at Zale's, and he went because he saw some commercial about it a while ago. "Hello," said a lady dressed in a black suit, "How can I help you?" Link looked around him and replied, "I'm looking for uh.. jewelry." She stared at him as he saw the aisles of rings, earrings, bracelets all shining and glaring into his eyes.  
  
"Sir?" she asked, "Are you looking for a particular choice?" "Um," Link said in a daze as he gawked at the long glass cases. "Not really," he answered, "Maybe uh, well, can you tell me what a blonde girl my age might like?" "And how old are you?" she inquired. "Nineteen," he answered, "But I think she's about eighteen or something." The lady nodded and showed him over to one of the many aisles. "We have a very popular selection of necklaces you might like to see," she said and motioned to over three aisles.  
  
Link blinked and sighed. 'This is really hard,' he thought.  
  
***  
  
Zelda opened her eyes for the fifth time that hour. 'I should be sleeping,' she thought as she saw the dial on her clock, and tried again. She sighed impatiently and tossed in different directions. Nothing worked, and she ended up staring at the ceiling again. "Milk," she muttered, and went downstairs to pour herself a glass. She brought it to the living room and sat, drinking a lukewarm Lon Lon Ranch Chateau.  
  
She was done with over half the glass, yet still felt as alert as before. Sighing, she looked at the clock that now read 12:30 A.M. She needed to stay awake tomorrow for classes, there was so much she needed to catch up on. Her eyes went towards the hair styling magazines that were all marked in different pages. 'Oh right,' she thought with a smile, 'that too.'  
  
Sipping on the milk, she thought about what the nurse had told her. Someone had donated blood in order to save her. When she asked who it was, she didn't believe it to be true. Zelda held the warm cup to her neck. Did he really do that just to let her live? How did he know? Why would anyone give so much for someone.. they don't care about? Or..  
  
She drained the last of the milk, now unable to sleep. Lying down on the sofa, she thought of the dream. There she was.. in the courtyard again. She remembered the courtyard, and everything was as it were before. But someone was there, standing close to her. She couldn't look up to see who it was, but she somehow knew them and yet couldn't be so sure. They were holding her hand, standing still as if waiting.  
  
'Are you ready to go back?' they asked her.  
  
*She finally looked at them. Still, the sun blocked their features, making it dark and unnoticeable. Go back.. home? They took her face into their hand and ran fingers through her hair.  
  
'Yes, home,' they replied, 'where you belong.'  
  
*That's right. She belonged.. there. With them. They tilted her face forward.  
  
"Sleep well," they murmured, "princess."  
  
*They leaned forward and kissed her.. and she was where she belonged.  
  
Zelda fell asleep on the couch, the tender moments of the dream lingering in her mind.  
  
***  
  
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you do? What makes your rising sun so new?  
  
Link woke up in a strange alertness. He sat up, and saw that Steve was just getting prepared. "Come on," he said to him irately, "We're gonna be late." Steve ran downstairs to grab a piece of toast, and Link remembered the last events from the night before. He smiled to himself and pulled out the neatly wrapped box from underneath the other pillow. It had taken him about five hours to find it, but it was perfect.  
  
The jewels of the necklace was set in a light blue tint, clustered around a pure sapphire held proudly in its center. He could see the slim chain lying around her neck, and he grinned as he started up and made himself ready.  
  
***  
  
~*~*~*~I could use a fresh beginning too All of my regrets are nothing new.  
  
It was nice to see some people cared that she came back. Zelda smiled as she was greeted by Professor Rauru and a few of the students who gave her hugs and well wishes. "Hey Zelda!" said a girl, "I really like your hair!" "Thanks," she answered and sat down. Link was sitting right next to her.. it felt strange. She wanted to say the same thing to him, to ask him why and how much she was in his debt. But the words wouldn't come. Link was silent, and made no motion as class began to start.  
  
***  
  
'Damnit,' he cursed to himself, stealing a quick glance at her direction. 'Just SAY something, you bastard,' Link thought, 'it's easy.. you open your mouth and words come out. Go say something, then give it to her saying that you're happy she's okay, and ask her if she's still in the play or not, or say something about her hair. Go.. GO!' He glanced at Sheik for support, who gave him a "what-the-hell-are-you-doing" look and motioned for him to do something. Link turned to Zelda while she was taking notes, and stopped short.  
  
"Hey, Zelda," he began, and she looked up. 'Fuck,' he cursed to himself. "When's the project due?" "It's on the board," she replied and went back to her notes.  
  
Link nearly slapped himself. 'DAMN!' He'll have to wait, there's still the whole day.  
  
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way.. this is the way.  
  
Zelda waited outside the Gym for Kafei to show up as he promised to do so while calling her last night. He appeared from the group of boys that streamed out the Gym doors, and caught up to Zelda. "Hey, baby," he said as he hugged her, "Look, I'm sorry about pushing you like that. You feeling alright?" Zelda smiled and hugged him back. "I'm fine," she said, "and it's not your fault."  
  
Kafei beamed and pulled away. "Well," he said with a smile, "I got you something." He reached into his jacket to pull out a teddy bear. "Oh, Kafei," Zelda said as she took it, "it's adorable!" It was about less than the size of her palm, and the stitches could be seen. There was some tears in the ear and it was clearly worn, but the thoughtfulness warmed her. "Thank you," she said with a smile. He grinned and pulled her into him, then kissed her on the lips. Zelda returned it, and when they stopped she rested her head over his shoulder. Suddenly she froze.  
  
Link was staring at them, from the other end of the hall. He was holding something that he shoved into his pocket, and then walked away.  
  
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.  
  
***  
  
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you been? Yesterday left my head kicked in.  
  
  
  
He must've been a fucking idiot to think anything would change. He should've listened to Sheik and not lose over seven hundred dollars over a worthless piece of shit. Nothing's changed, how could he forget that she was still seeing that bastard?  
  
A hard lump rose up in his throat, and he forced it go back down. His chest protested and made it hard to breathe, the air around him was hot and smothered him mercilessly.  
  
Link felt a stinging in his eyes. He blinked them back, pushing it away. The weight of the necklace fell into his pocket, scraping against him as he walked.  
  
It hurts..  
  
~*~*~*~I never, never thought that I would fall like that, Never knew that I could hurt this bad.  
  
***  
  
Zelda scanned the lunchroom. Link wasn't there, and he hadn't been anywhere in the halls. 'English,' she thought, 'I'm sure to see him during English.' She bit her lip and thought of his face. She never thought someone could seem so.. it was as if she had torn the wings off of an angel.. and she was doomed to see its pain.  
  
She held back the tears and shook her head defiantly. He just happened to be there.. that was all. There was nothing in his expression.. he was just there. But the look on his face.. if she had anything to do with it she could never forgive herself.  
  
***  
  
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.  
  
Link cut his classes and sat outside under the shade of the oak tree while the bell rang on and off. People walked around him, chattering in their own busy ways. He just.. sat. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. The wind blew the leaves of the trees, and he peered to the view of Lake Hylia.  
  
The lake was just the same as it was a few weeks before.. the tiny trickle of a river flowing towards a magnificent body of water hidden by the foliage of trees. He could see her hand shaping every blade, controlling every wave with the stroke of her pencil. Link looked up past the trees and to the sun. The sky was clear and blue.. it was calm.  
  
He took out the gift from his pocket, its surface sleek and shining. After a few moments, he stood up and walked, carrying it in his hand. He followed the dirt path to the bridge, where beneath was the brook that would carry itself to the Lake Hylia.  
  
Link tore at the tape holding the ends holding the wrappings together. He tossed this into the water, and opened the gray box holding the necklace in black velvet. His hand picked up the sapphire, holding it in his palm and letting the chain fall at the sides. The box he threw into the brook, letting it follow the currents.  
  
He stared at it in his hand. It was blue, and at different lighting it turned violet. They looked like her eyes. Link could feel the cold stone grow hard in his hand, feeling a numbing pain in his chest. He held it over the edge of the bridge. It still shone brightly and let of spectrums of colors.. she would've looked real nice in it.  
  
He let the necklace slip and fall into the water.  
  
Link turned around and walked back slowly. He should be going to English, now, or someone might catch him out here. He stuffed his hands into the empty pockets and went inside the school.  
  
~*~*~*~These abundant skies.. yea Abundant skies.. yea.  
  
***  
  
Zelda was shocked to see him come in. There was only a few minutes left of class, and Link strolled inside the door during a lecture. "Oh," Professor Anju said lightly, "Please, come on in." Link nodded and went to sit in the back wall. Zelda looked back, and felt a clog pushing itself up. She had to do it soon, she had to ask him somehow.  
  
The class packed up their belongings, and the bell rang. Link went out the door first, and Zelda looked at him frantically. 'No wait,' she pleaded, and stuffed her folders inside her book bag before dashing out the door. She searched for him in the hall, and spotted him in a crowd.  
  
"Link!" she cried out, "Link!" He stopped and turned, and she caught up. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "But I wanted to talk to you." "What?" he asked. Zelda took a breath and looked at him. "I.. wanted to thank you," she began, "For.. um, giving me a chance.. to live. If it weren't for you I might not have survived the accident.. thank you, you saved my life." She released her breath and felt her heart pounding in her ears. Link stared at her coldly.  
  
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he said.  
  
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way, that I say, I love you.  
  
Zelda stared at him in disbelief. "Saved your life?" he scoffed and grinned, "What kind of a bitch comes up with that kind of shit?" She looked and stuttered, "I.. but I thought that you.."  
  
Link stared at her closely. "I what?" he said in a low voice, "Who the hell do you think you are?" She fought back the urge to cry.. this couldn't be right. "Link," she murmured, "but.. didn't you.." He shook his head slowly with a skeptical expression and leaned forward. "What's the matter?" he whispered, "You gonna cry on me?" He snickered and stood back up.  
  
"Little fag," he muttered to her pale face, "Now that I think about it," he stopped and looked her over, "You were just making up an excuse to get laid." She gazed up and felt the warmth flooding her cheeks without her consent. Link's face widened in a grin, and Zelda couldn't find the words to say it. There.. there was nothing.. there was nothing.. was there?  
  
She stepped back slowly and ran down the hall with her hand covering her pain.  
  
~*~*~*~This is the way, that I say I'm yours. This is the way.. this is the way.  
  
***  
  
Link watched her run down the hall. He thought about her tears, and saw the pain in her face. There was no chance, no ass-fucking hell of a chance anyway.  
  
He thought about their kiss.. and he hated himself for it.  
  
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. Yes, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. These abundant skies.. Yea.. I'm learning to breathe, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.. ~*~*~*~  
  
~ Learning to Breathe - Switchfoot  
  
  
  
~I hope that was okay. I'm not really sure how people approach my writing so I.. hope that was okay! Brought up some stuff about Mikau, and next chappy's gonna explain some- heyy.. not like I'm gonna tell.. *gets thrown over the side of a cliff. Just a suggestion: for some comedy relief, check out my SSB melee fic (I need the reviews, badly!) ^_~  
  
  
  
La la la, I'm glad people are still reading!!  
  
Chelsea - LOL!! Aw, that sux getting pulled over! (and yea, poor Mido ^_^) haha, CLIFFHANGER!! Lol  
  
Qserenity2000 - Yay! I'm glad you like Link a lot *WHO DOESN'T?!! DRROOOOOLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol  
  
Rai Dorian - lol, hehe. See, I DID try to update sooner, but it's not MY fault that the site doesn't work! ^.^  
  
Face - *whew. Well, the guilt trip worked!! New year's resolution number 1 completed! *now for the other 12315412321..  
  
Flame Thrower - *snaps fingers in disappointment. I probably should have made her stick in the coma for a few years.. (J/K, J/K!!)  
  
Sherrilynn - sniff, thank you! That's so sweet of you to say!!! ~_~ 


	11. SO SORRY!

HEY!!  
  
Argh, I'm sorry but there's gonna be no chappies this week until midterms are over! I really need to study (coughs) and my mom's caged me in my room to do so, lol. *readers holding pitchforks and flamethrowers grumbling. Hehe, I'll get to writing when skool slacks off a bit. GOMEN!!! 


	12. CHAPTER 12, FINALLY!

~~ HEY! Didja all miss me? *mad shouting.wait, don't answer that one. I've been stuck in the rut with a major writer's block, and I still haven't updated my other fic yet. If it's too much to ask for apologies, or in other words: PLEASE SPARE ME!! (.)' ------------------Oh and if you wanna be part of the mailing list for updates, add it in a review the next time you write one! And look up my "Art" at Rai Dorian's site, Obsidian Seas, at the link I sent you! to homesite, to art section.(--- ---------------- Well I'm not gonna hold this off any longer, so go on and read if you can still stand me. ~_~  
The silence of the room was unbearable. Sheik fumbled with his pencil, tapping it against the desk in rhythm to the Hello Kitty clock ticking on the wall. 'Tick..clack..tock..clack..' The tail to that cartoon cat swished back and forth.. back and forth.. his eyes followed it from left to right in a constant pattern until he felt dizzy. He blinked and shook his head dizzily and sighed out of frustration. Looking across the table, Sheik watched as Malon was poring over their experimental data.  
  
He cleared his throat, but she made no movement. Again, he coughed and hacked in a loud series of commotion until he was suddenly met with a piercing glare from the redhead. "Get a glass of water from the kitchen," she said simply, and lowered her head once again. Sheik frowned at her cold behavior. "Just wanted to lighten up things," he said as he tossed his pencil in the air and caught it with two fingers. "You know," he added after a brief moment, "I would feel so appreciated if you'll let me handle a part in this fucking project."  
  
Malon paused and stared at him blankly. "Wait a minute.." she started in a slow drawl, "you're asking for me to give you something to do, right?" Sheik felt a bit fucked up under her examining gaze.. like he was some two- year-old who just pissed in his pants and had to retell it to Ms. Kyler.. and damn he hated Ms. Kyler. He simply nodded like an idiot, and a cynical look spread over Malon's face. "Okay, then," she replied, "How about this: you run along now and play. I'll finish typing up the report, and when you come back we'll let you write your name on it all by yourself."  
  
She ended with a forced smile and added, "How does that sound?" Without another word, she resumed working. Sheik sat for a stunned moment, when he stretched and stood up. "Fine," he said and started to walk towards the door. Malon stared back at the report and heard him open the door, and a moment later it closed. She frowned to herself, when a hand grabbed the report from the table. "Hey!" she shouted at Sheik, who pulled the paper from her hand as she jumped up to fetch it. "Come on, give it!" Malon yelled in frustration. Sheik gave a toothy grin and began to prance around the room.  
  
"If you want it, then come get it!" he called back. The red head made a low growl and lunged after him. Sheik held the report high over his head as he zigzagged past the furniture. "Aye mates," he covered his mouth with one hand and spoke through it, "Wha' you awr seein' here is a bloody chase between the wurld's slyest and dashin' ahntelope, and a ferocious flea- bitten she-liyon!" Malon cursed as she missed him by the thread of his Nautica T-shirt.  
  
"Crikey!" Sheik cried out, "Our liyoness nearly had 'em! Of corse, this is the survie-val of the fittest! Looks like she may need to stop snahkin' on those sugary, helpless koalas." "Damnit, Sheik you asshole!" Malon yelled while they jumped over the sofas and skidded on the wooden floor, "Stop jerking around and that stupid commentary!" Sheik stuck his tongue out at her and waved the report in a taunting fashion. "Yea like, bloody hell!" he answered in a rich English accent.  
  
Malon snarled in rage and made large sweeps with her hands to catch a handful of the white-blond hair. "I am going to maul you!" she swore. Sheik laughed raucously and leaped to the carpet. "Not if you can't catch me!" he ranted and faced her as he ran backwards. Malon reached out to grab him as he dodged her aimless attempts. "Haha!" he taunted her, and felt the carpet slide from underneath his feet.  
  
"Wha?" he made a startled noise and impulsively placed both hands towards the ground. His head hit the carpet with a dense thud, and the rest of his body fell with it. Sheik shook his head slowly as the hazy blur of the room swam around him in circles. Malon gasped in terror. "Oh no!" she cried out, "The report!" Sheik lifted his head up slightly. "Huh?" he murmured as Malon began to run towards him.  
  
He felt her slide on the carpet, then fall face-front into him. 'Whoa..' he thought as he suddenly felt her body lying against his. Malon made a light moan and looked at him blearily. They stared at each other for a long moment, when Malon started out in a stammer, "Uh, um.." Sheik noticed that her cheeks flushed a little. He smiled at her warmly and reached out to tuck a tendril of red hair behind her ear.  
  
"You do have a cute side," he murmured, his hand staying by her face. Malon, almost for once, was at lost for words. She blinked for a moment, when a sudden tearing sound snapped them back. "Oh..whoops," Sheik said as he held a torn sheet from their report. The sides were bent up in odd angles as a deep gash shredded through the center. Malon took it slowly, her expression undefined.  
  
Sheik bit his lip and waited for her to begin murdering him. A strange noise filled his ears instead. He glanced at her and saw that she was laughing lightheartedly. The look on her face was so silly and damn right funny that he found himself chuckling as well. She buried her head into his chest shaking with giggles, and Sheik began to snicker as he tried to hide his face. They lay on the carpet tossing to their sides in laughter, occasionally stopping to stare at each other's outrageous expressions to continue laughing again.  
  
"Aw man.." Sheik said happily, "Aw dude..jeez that was just weird." Malon grinned and looked at the report with a fixed expression. "Well," she said, "I guess we can't use this." She let it drop to the ground and looked at him. "You wanna help me redraw some stuff?" she asked hesitantly. Sheik smiled brightly and held her chin. Malon's face started to turn red again as he pulled her face towards him. The soft look on his face seemed right and yet unfamiliar. "Sure, I'll help," he whispered.  
  
***  
  
Saria rang the door for the tenth time. "Zelda?" she called out. Impatiently, she rang it in a continuous on-off series until her hand started getting sore. She cursed out of frustration, and paced around the hall with the small bag of medicine. They were supposed to be treating Zelda for another week until she could keep things down in her stomach. It seemed like the past few days she lost her appetite, and every time she, Malon, or Nabooru came there would be an extra layer of untouched food lying around.  
  
She leaned against the wall and checked her watch. It was well past noon, no reason for Zelda to sleep in so late. Saria sighed and slid down to the floor. Her arms crossed over her legs as she stared at the crimson-painted wall in front of her. 'Seems like Zelda doesn't want to do anything but sleep,' she thought tiredly. Something has obviously been putting her off..but she doesn't say anything about it. Saria looked at the door and played with the medicine bag absent-mindedly.  
  
Her first thought was to keep ringing until Zelda finally gave in, but it seemed more logical to ask the office for a door card. She smacked herself on the forehead with blatant realization. It was Saturday, nowhere in the school except the cafeteria and the library would be accessible. Maybe she could rally up a small group to break down the door..  
  
With a sigh she heaved herself up and walked down the hall slowly. Somewhere down her path, the elevator stopped at a ding on the same floor. She heard two people in low voices coming down her way, and when she turned around the corner she nearly bumped into them.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Vicky snapped at her. Saria bit back her rage and looked up at the girl with a strained smile. "Sorry," she replied, "couldn't see where I was going." "No shit," replied the young man Vicky was with. Saria had to crane her neck to see his face. 'The curse of shortness,' she thought, and recognized Link with his blond hair. They stepped around her before she could answer, and Saria shot a scowl at the two of them.  
  
"Wouldn't kill you two assholes to be a bit more polite," she muttered under her breath. She was about to walk past the corner when she realized that Link and Vicky were stopping at Zelda's dorm room. Saria looked at them quizzically when her eyes widened. 'Vicky must be Zelda's dorm-buddy,' she rationalized and bit her tongue. "Gods..Zelda, you so owe me big time," she swore to herself and walked up to them.  
  
Vicky was just about to turn for a good-bye kiss when she spotted Saria. A look of disgust crossed her face as she waved her hand at her. "Shoo," she ordered, "Go back to your little playpen." Link laughed as Saria tried to keep a straight face. "Didn't mean to interrupt," she started, "but can you let me into the room? I need to see someone." Vicky raised her eyebrows.  
  
"What the fuck are you talking about, bitch?" she demanded, "There ain't anyone in there." She turned her gaze back at Link and pulled herself closer to him. "But there will be," she added with a smile. Saria rolled her eyes. "Please," she continued, "If you could keep those hands off of the bastard for one moment and just let me in."  
  
They both shot her a piercing glare. "Watch who your flippin' that tongue at, fag," Link said to her threateningly. Saria swallowed slowly and kept her hands over the strap of the medicine bag. "I'm watching," she mused, "and I'm getting dead bored. All I need is to see someone, really." Vicky gave off an irritated scoff. "I told you, you deaf munchkin," she replied harshly, "There's no one in there!"  
  
"Yes, there is," Saria retorted, "Your dorm buddy's inside and she needs her medicine." "What's wrong," Link said as one of his hands started sliding up Vicky's thighs, "she got some mental issues? Ha, no wonder you're friends." Saria clenched the strap harder, her knuckles turning white. "Ugh," Vicky turned to her and added in a nauseating tone, "I don't got any dorm buddy. Crazy bitch is fucking up just to piss us off."  
  
Saria's face was turning hot. "Stop that crap," she said in a low voice, "My friend's sick and I don't give shit to what you two wanna do as long as I can get in and help her." "Look," Vicky retorted with heightened aggravation, "I ain't got no fucking dorm buddy. There ain't anyone in that dorm, and you ain't anyone either. So get your sorry little ass and your retarded, make-believe girlfriend back down the hole you crawled out of."  
  
Link chuckled in amusement as Vicky wrapped herself around him and engaged in a lip-lock. Saria stared, her head pounding with blood and wrath she fought so hard to press down. But the scene wrapped itself around her in a smothering haze. The next moment, Vicky was holding on to a reddening cheek. Saria felt the contents of the medicine bag shift as she held it back into its original position. Vicky stood in a dazed state of shock, then whipped a swollen face towards Saria.  
  
"Don't give your shit about me or Zelda," Saria said. Vicky smacked her hard with one hand and shouted hysterically. "You fucking little BITCH!" she shrieked, "Fucking FAGGOT!!" She slapped Saria again and again. Saria bit back the pain..maybe she let herself go too far. It was a moment later when Link stopped Vicky's arm from commencing further. "Come on, baby," he said convincingly, "Forget the bitch and let's go inside."  
  
Vicky gave Saria a hard look before she turned around and slid the door card huffily. She slammed open the door and walked inside without a word. Link slowly followed, and Saria rubbed her face as she looked at the door. It was left open.  
  
She went inside, and heard water splashing from inside the powder room. Link stood nonchalantly in the kitchen as he waited. His back was turned to the door as he stared at the rows of kitchen utilities and dishes. Saria crept by, wincing as the sound of the medicine bottles clinked against each other while she tried to pass by him. A quick glance told her that Link hadn't heard her, and Saria darted past.  
  
Dashing up the stairs with the throbbing on her face, she found Zelda lying on one of the beds. She was half-awake when Saria shook her up, and looked at her with bleary eyes. "Saria?" Zelda muttered and stared in confusion. "What's wrong with your face?" she asked, "You look like you got beaten." Saria smiled lightly and pulled out the medicine. "Nah, nippy air outside, that's all," she said.  
  
Zelda pushed herself up. "I thought I heard shouting..but I couldn't be sure," she said, "Was it from down the hall?" Saria shrugged and answered, "I dunno. Come on, take this one first and then eat your tablets." Zelda complied with reluctance, her eyes staying at Saria's red face. Saria turned away slightly, and cursed at herself. 'That's it,' she concluded, 'I need anger management..'  
  
"Saria," Zelda said slowly after a hard swallow, "Someone's downstairs aren't they?" Saria looked at her too quickly and frowned just a little. "Yea.. I needed some help getting in, that's all," she answered. Zelda's face was mixed up in confusion when Vicky's voice interrupted the air.  
  
"How DARE she, that fucking little asshole!" she yelled, "Hitting me with that stupid bag, what the fuck does she think she is?!" There was a soft conversation that followed, and soon footsteps on the stairs. Zelda stared at the staircase and looked at Saria. "My dorm buddy, isn't it?" she murmured.  
  
Saria only sighed, when a blond head appeared above the stairs. Link, looking indifferent in expression, was traveling up the staircase. Vicky followed close by, tugging at him and smiling suggestively when she stopped automatically. "When did that get in here?" she muttered and pointed directly at Saria. "And oh gods, she brought the retard with her, too," she added at Zelda sitting up in her bed.  
  
***  
  
She didn't think that he'd be here, and she was both happy and pained at the same time. Zelda opened her mouth to say something when she was overcome by a series of coughing. "Sorry," she blurted while in a coughing fit. Vicky was hysterical, and began shouting loudly. "Get her out! I don't want whatever shit she's filled with!" She made a move towards Zelda to yank her out of bed when Link pulled her back and began fondling with her. "Oh come on," he crooned, "We got an audience."  
  
Vicky made a pout and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But they make me sick," she moaned. Zelda held to Saria's clenched fist tightly, never had she seen her so angry. Link and Vicky kissed, and Zelda managed to swallow. She really should have been eating.. her stomach was feeling incapable of keeping contents inside. When the two of them pulled away, Zelda took a long, deep breath.  
  
"If it isn't too much," she finally spoke, "I'm sick and I don't want to be a bother. So please, if there's somewhere else you can go.." Vicky scoffed while Link held her by her waist from behind. "You get out," she snapped, "there ain't any better place for us two to be. My baby's dorm buddy's bothering us, too, so find your shitty self someplace else." Zelda frowned a little and sighed.  
  
"Saria," she said softly, "I'll stay over your place, alright?" Saria seemed flustered at her but nodded in defeat. "Finally," Vicky rolled her eyes and said. Zelda stepped out of the bed in her pajamas and went to find something comfortable to change into. "What are you doing?" Vicky asked her bitingly. "I have to change," Zelda answered in a soft voice.  
  
Vicky's face twisted in anger and irritation. "No you're not," she objected, "Get out!" She tossed the medicine at Saria. "Get out of here, bitch!" she spat at her. Zelda grabbed Saria before she decided to strike back, and went downstairs hurriedly. "Zelda!" Saria protested, "Stop moving so fast, you'll faint!" Vicky was chasing after them, yelling for them to get out. She looked more intent on ripping at Saria, and Zelda wasn't going to let her.  
  
She grabbed her purse hanging on the wall before they left, Vicky still at their heels. Zelda went out the door and finally released Saria, who clutched at the bag half-emptied of medicine. Vicky and Link stood at the door from the other end, grinning at them. "Assholes," Vicky called out, and the sound of her and Link in a fiery aftermath of low groans echoed down the hall before the door shut closed.  
  
"Zelda?" Saria inquired as she followed Zelda nearly sprinting towards her dorm. She finally caught up, and Zelda felt an arm grab her shoulder. "Slow down a bit," she urged, "You don't look so well." The blonde looked blankly in front of her without a reply. "I'll be fine," she replied.  
  
But it seemed like she was being torn apart.  
  
Saria unlocked the door and opened it, letting themselves in. "Go upstairs and sleep a bit more," she urged, "I'm gonna fix us some quick lunch, k?" She winked at her reassuringly and sped off to the kitchen, leaving Zelda in the living room. Zelda walked up the stairs and dropped her purse on the floor. She slipped into the bed, letting the covers wrap around her.  
  
Zelda held to the other object she had grabbed before leaving. The hair tie's jewels left imprints in her hand, and for a moment, she could see him standing there with it. She imagined that he was smiling.. at her. He looked like he cared.  
  
Yet it wasn't him that was there.  
  
The image erased itself amid the welling of tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry.." she sobbed, "I didn't want myself to fall this hard.." She hushed herself to be quiet, but her tears rolled off into the pillow and stayed there.  
  
***  
  
"No..no!" Malon cried out, "No, Sheik, don't go in there!"  
  
"I think.. I'm gonna.." Sheik replied in heightening tension, "Oh man..I'm goin' to-OH!! OOOHH YEEEAAAHHH!!"  
  
Sheik threw the controller to the ground in triumph as he hollered at the top of his lungs. "OH!" he cried out, "That's right, who's da man?! Unh hunh, unh hunh!" He did a head bang as his character made a victory lap around the track course on television. Malon glared at the screen, where her character was placed second in the race.  
  
Sheik clapped his hands together. "Bam!" he shouted, "You just got wiped by the one, the only, Champion of Diddy Kong Racing!" He mimicked a large crowd chanting his name while posing out in different macho stances. "Not fair!" Malon cried out, "You took a shortcut!" Sheik paused with both arms bent over in an arc as he squatted to show off arm muscles. "What the fuck are you talkin' about?" he protested, "That tunnel was right in front of you!"  
  
"No one could have taken a turn like that without knowing it was there!" Malon objected. She picked up her controller and shoved the other into Sheik's hands. "Rematch," she said solemnly. Sheik shrugged and squatted back down to the ground. They had finished redrawing most of the tables and charts, but all work and no play makes Sheik-man a dull boy. So they dug up the old N64 system at his place, and he hated to admit it but Malon was pretty damn good for a beginner.  
  
"Get the blue one.. no, the blue one you, color-blind turtle!" he cursed. Malon was now leading by two bananas and a few feet from her second lap. Sheik strained his controller as he tried to jump ahead. Yea, this was one of those good times. He and Link used to be crazy about this game until they were fucking with bitches by the time they left middle school. Sheik furrowed his eyebrows, and glanced at Malon for a moment.  
  
It wasn't like that with little Malon though. Hell, she was the first girl who was playing with his controller rather than his.. Sheik coughed and blinked for a second. 'Course, cause this was Malon. That's just how she was, and hey she seemed kinda' cute and funny at the same time sitting down with that look on her face. "I'm BEATING you!" she screamed with loud excitement.  
  
Sheik whipped back to the screen. "No!" he answered and tried to catch up, "More bananas, gimme more speed!" He bent and twisted his body to focus on the track. They were halfway on the last lap, and Malon was actually beating him. Their characters were now neck to neck, once in a while gaining speed over each other. The two of them leaned forward with their eyes glued to the television.  
  
The little jig played with a picture of Tipsy the mouse flashing on the screen. Sheik sat back down, aghast. "No.." he moaned. Malon punched the air and shouted aloud, "AW, that's right!!" She stood up, shook and boogied in a victory dance. "You just got WIPED," she said with an accent on the word.  
  
Sheik stuck his tongue at her, and started laughing. "Man, I must've looked like a real jackass," he said while watching her shimmy and shake. Malon shook her head and answered, "Nah, you looked worse than this." She grinned and started shaking her hips, yelling out to an unheard music. He shook his head in disbelief. Link acted the same way he did back then, and he couldn't believe this fucking image of Malon doing the same thing.  
  
His smile faded a little as he thought about his friend. Link hadn't spoken to him since that morning in Science when he tried giving that New Girl the necklace. Sheik knew better than to probe about it, but it bothered him seeing his friend practically avoid him in the hallways and ignoring him during class. He scratched his head and thought in confusion. Why can't that messed up bastard just go up and tell him what happened?  
  
Sheik knew Link was out at nights, too. He slept over again at the dorm, and not once did he come back. His bike gone, not saying a word, and that attitude he's putting off was really pissing him off. 'I mean, jeez,' he thought aggravated, 'we're buds. Fucking jerk's getting so damn stubborn, like he thinks no one else knows how it feels to be screwed up.' He noticed the silence in the room.  
  
Malon's eyes peered at him. "Hey," she asked, "You alright?" Sheik raised his eyebrows and nodded eagerly. "Yea," he answered, "I'm fine." A skeptical look crossed her face, and Sheik found that she actually seemed concerned. For some reason, he'd be damned if she wasn't gonna throw her arms around him and say she'll make him feel better, then make him a nice bowl of chicken soup and tuck him into bed before reading him a bedtime story till he falls asleep.  
  
He laughed at the thought, and she pulled back in confusion. "Sorry," he said, "taking the pains of defeat pretty hard." He placed a hand over his heart and sniffed dramatically. Malon smirked and giggled lightly. "Ah, Sheik," she said, "you'll never change." Sheik placed an innocent expression. "Isn't that a good thing?" Malon didn't answer, but smiled to herself. "I don't know," she answered, "Maybe just because this is who you are, and I've just found it."  
  
She stood up and headed for the door. "Thanks for the race," she called back, "See you tomorrow at the library, eleven o' clock." "Cool," Sheik answered and began to clean up the system. "And Sheik?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
Malon winked and gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm the champ," she said. Sheik feigned a glare. "Oh rub it in, why don't you?" he asked. She laughed and walked out of sight. Sheik chuckled as he rose to close the door. He watched as she disappeared out the corner, her red hair shining in brightening crimson. "Aw, man.." he muttered to himself, "It's gonna be deja vu all over again if I can't help it." He closed the door and went to put back the controllers.  
~~WAH!! So happy people liked the last chapter! Though I really can't say the same for this one, I guess I just screwed it all up at the last minute. Erk.I'll try harder next time. Please continue to R&R, and I just might be doing another Zelda fic if you feel it's ok: A war wages in a unfamiliar land of Hyrule, and the plot carries on with Link and a group of others trying to stop it, that sort of thing. Old characters, some new ones, and all that sort of crap I so suck at. ^_~ Well, thanks to you all for putting up with this damn writer who can't keep track of time, sniff, I really appreciate it!  
  
*Reviews, again till the very last chappy, baby!!  
  
spoiled*princess- thank you for waiting, and I'm so sorry that I made you do so!!  
  
dan- aww..thanks! do you really think so?  
  
krabby patty-Gomen!! Hope it was worth the wait!  
  
steve-thanks! Now two peeps thinks it kicks ass, yay!  
  
Patrick-ah heheheheh..i updated just now.. ^_^;  
  
Flame Thrower- sniff, I'm so sorry.. *runs off to cry in a little corner  
  
drifter- lol, really? Yea, I guess it does seem like a soap opera. Hehe, and if that gets me more reviews I'll keep it coming..*gets walloped on the head with a hammer  
  
Mags-hey, thanks! Really liked the site and that story, lots of drama, and I found my favorite artist Min Rho again!! YAY! And big thanks for updating, you left it at another turnpoint.. *pouts and sulks.  
  
bishouji88- HEY! I didn't mean to! Besides, I got you a necklace!! . lol  
  
ElisaAnna- Aww, thank you thank you! I got new readers! *throws head back and laughs maniacally  
  
Rai Dorian- yes, DAMN THOSE MIDTERMS!!!!!! ~_~  
  
MoonRider- eek! O_O didn't know you um..kept one..*edges slooowwwly away, lol  
  
Idiosyncratic- !!! till the end of the YEAR?! .SUFFER MY WRATH!!! ^.^  
  
Flame Thrower - Yea..kinda makes you wanna put a petition for less homework in school doesn't it? hehe  
  
Face - *chanting: Work before pleasure. Work before pleasure..THIS ISN'T WORKING!! Lol  
  
IloveVeggieTales-I was actually gonna make them hook up or make them kiss but..you know, I'll drag it along. ^.~  
  
Lilyclover924-lol, okay now I KNOW you're exaggerating! Let's discuss this behavior pattern the next time I see you around ^_^  
  
*lil Link* - *nervous chuckle. Um..was the wait worth it? *sweatdrop  
  
Demon-Girl- sniff, thanks so much! I feel so special thinking people take time to write comments *which I hope will happen more often, hehe..(rubbing hands together)  
  
Tenshi Kanashimi- thanks, I didn't feel the last chapter had a lot of reaction to it! ~_~ ;  
  
Nanali-I KNOW! I mean, jeez a guy could at LEAST speak appropriately! But who am I to say..lol  
  
spider- hehe, thanks for the penname comment.  
  
Aprilsummer - gracias! I guess the entire "hook-up and then see how they cope with it" thing in anime gets old, lol  
  
jasper-isis - wow..that makes me feel REALLY good. Sniff, thanks for saying that, I'm glad I've helped a new Zelda fan member to indulge themselves!  
  
Idiosyncratic- was it? *starts to cry* thank you!!!  
  
a_troubled_girl- that's fine! I should be apologizing for not writing for the longest..time..*eyes darting back and forth nervously*  
  
Flame Thrower - Lol, do you really like the SSBM one? I'm trying to keep the hilarity of it, not sure if I should include more girls or something, lol  
  
Rai Dorian - oh yea! I'm working on another one! Hope to get it to you soon!!  
  
MoonRider - haha..400!!??! *starts convulsing* 


	13. it's here, it's here, it's finally here!...

~ It's me! .. (crickets chirping in the silence) sniff, okay, I definitely deserved that. Been busy, writer's block, yadda yadda, all the same excuses and I'm sooo sorry I couldn't keep up with my own deadlines. So I'm not gonna say I can promise anything but I will be able to notify everyone on my mailing list whenever a chapter gets updated. On the brighter note, I did manage to send new artwork to Rai's site Obsidian Seas (check previous chapters and see what the address is, too lazy to get myself to do it! ^_^ ; )   
  
So now, read on! You've been all waiting for it (and even if you weren't, sniffle) Chapter 14 of RL!!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There was banging.. and more banging. It was ringing in his ears and whoever the fucking asshole was had better shut the hell up soon. Link moaned and swung to his side, burying his face in the pillow as one hand limply held on to a long-necked bottle. Now there was the bell thingy. It was going on and off.. on and off.. "Go away," he groaned painfully and hazily massaged a throbbing temple.   
  
It finally stopped, and he made an effortless sound and rolled over on the bed. There was a brief moment of beautiful silence when the high-pitched note of that damn bell rang over time, and Link felt as if it were splitting into his skull. "Unnnhh.." he muttered and dragged himself over the side of his bed. He took a swig out of the bottle in his hand and let the liquor seep down his throat. With a haggard yell, he stood up. "Whoa.." he mumbled, "I got knees.."   
  
He bent forward and tried to urge his feet to move. Instead his torso fell over and he used one hand to cushion his fall. Link raised himself halfway and stared at the floor in a daze. The ground was moving.. oh fuck stop the moving.. He slammed a fist against it, and his vision shook from the impact. "Heh," he grinned toothily as the floor slowly began to halt, "It stopped moving." Chuckling victoriously, he staggered towards the staircase and headed down.   
  
Twice he tripped; both times he just laughed uproariously and drank another gulp of that damn burning stuff. The bell kept drumming into his ears as he scraped his way across the couch. "I'm a-comin', you ass.." he murmured sluggishly and took another drink. Link leaned against the door and turned the doorknob, but the door remained close. "Huh.." he muttered pulled it again and again. "Stupid – hic! Door.." he said and flicked the little gold thingy on top of it, then tried opening the door one last time with a forceful yank.   
  
The door swung toward him and slammed into his face. "What the hell took you?" said the person on the other end. Link wrinkled his nose and slowly reached up and massaged it. "Oww.." he groaned bitterly and raised his bottle to his lips. Another hand grabbed it and pulled it out from his grasp. "Yo," Link retorted, "that's mine, dude. I know you, right?" He squinted at the other and could barely make out their multi-faces. "Hey," he muttered and raised a finger at them, "Could you stop moving?"   
  
"Link, since when did you started drinkin'?" they asked. "Wha?" he mumbled. Slowly the faces stopped swirling around, and he saw that the guy only had one face that was vaguely familiar. "Answer me, you arrogant bastard!" the other shouted, "What the hell have you been up to?! I can take the hint when you need some time to your ass-fucker self since you've avoided me all week, but this is – damn Link, what kind of shit-hole did you dig yourself into?!"   
  
The voice was definitely familiar. Link felt it ringing in his head as he picked himself up less gracefully than he probably have meant to. He stared straight at the guy and murmured, "You can't just come in here and - hic!" His hand reached for the other's face, but all he felt was something smooth and cool. "DUDE! Look over here, I'm over here!" shouted the voice, which for some messed up reason felt like it was not in front of him. Link grimaced as hands held the sides of his head and spun him around from the door and in front of his visitor.  
  
"Link, you need some help man," he said. Link made a soft moan and placed his hands on the guy's shoulder. "Hey.." he said and his face split in a goofy smile, "you're Sheik!" Suddenly, he felt a rise come up from the bowels of his stomach and force its way to the back of his throat in collective lumps. For some reason, Sheik screamed when Link reopened his mouth.   
  
***  
  
It was some time before Sakon finally came back. December was one fucking month that snowed like crazy. Ganon narrowed his amber-red eyes into slits, his feet half in the snow. Sakon had better bring something worthwhile to sit this fucking night through just waiting for him. He had better shit to take care of, like beating Link into a bloody pulp. Ganon didn't bother showing up at school after that ass and him had taken it out during Gym. Now he stayed in his dorm, showed up around town; the teachers didn't give a fuck about it as long as his old bitch and bastard kept shoveling in the shiny stuff to keep him in.  
  
But he had unfinished business to take care of. Ganon growled to himself and clenched his fist with a vengeance. He was gonna get rid of Link one way or another. The mother-fucker won't know what hit him.   
  
The boys were all with him, huddled around their places and smokin' their cigarettes. Ganon held out two empty fingers and felt one slip between them. He flipped the joint to Jabu, who bent over his rolling ass and lit it for him. Taking in a long drag, Ganon watched and waited for that bastard Sakon to move his sorry carcass over.   
  
"Yo," Sakon turned to one of the others smoking a pack, "Gimme some of that." "You don't get nothin'," Ganon said threateningly, and both Sakon and the other shrunk back. "What the fuck did you want to show me?" Ganon muttered through one side of his mouth. Sakon was shaking and puffs of air came out as gray clouds in the freezing night. Let him catch something and die, it'll be worth to see it. "I've got something," he said and took out that something out of his pocket. Ganon snatched it out of his hand and held it out against the moonlight. The boys moved in to see it, and a few whispered, "Damn."  
  
"Give him a joint," Ganon ordered, and when Sakon got his hands on one he nearly swallowed it. Ganon held the necklace Sakon showed him, he didn't know how a jackass like Sakon got a hold on it but it looked pretty damn expensive. They could sell it off for a good deal downtown. Ganon rolled each diamond stud over the other as he stared at it. Shades of blue – sapphires; they'll make a real good sell. Should track down about a thousand Rupees or so.  
  
He glanced away from the necklace and cast a sharp stare at Sakon huffing and puffing on his joint as if he'll never get a chance at the stuff again. "Where the hell did you get this?" he muttered. Sakon jumped back a little, and a few of the guys laughed. "It was washed up down the creek under some snow," Sakon answered with a slight mumble, "I'm guessing some idiot dropped it over the bridge or threw it out the side or something."   
  
Ganon snarled and threw the necklace to that fucking asshole's face. "You dumb bastard!" he yelled, "You thought someone just 'threw' it off the bridge and into the creek? Why do you think they threw it, moron?!" Sakon's lip quivered and the joint slipped out of his mouth. Ganon threw the necklace down in rage. "It's FAKE!" he bellowed.   
  
Immediately three of the boys jumped Sakon and pinned him down to the ground. The runt struggled against their grips but Ganon kicked him in the groin and sent him rolling on the snow. He spat out thick mucus mixed with grounded tobacco at Sakon's face and spun back in disgust and frustration. They wasted the night waiting on a junk of jewelry bringing an even more worthless piece of crap. "Take care of him, boys," he said in a low voice.   
  
"Let's tie 'em to the flagpole," said one of them. "Let me go, assholes!" Sakon screamed. Ganon glared and jerked his head towards the boys. They started pummeling Sakon with punches that landed hard with every blow, one of the guys kicking him along the chest. The little shit just kept on yelling and struggling while five people were pinning him down. Ganon groaned in frustration and lighted himself another joint, smoking it and waiting until Sakon's screams were finally dead.   
  
'Finally,' he thought and took a long drag out of the smoke. He turned and gave the limp body a final kick. Sakon rolled over unconsciously, and Ganon saw something fall out from his jacket. He motioned for one of the guys to pick it up, then stuck his smoke between his teeth and took it out of their hands.   
  
It was a box, a long, thin, black velvet box that was still wet and was a bit hardened. There was a fancy gold lettering on the top he didn't bother to read; it was the fucking advertisement for the biggest jeweler ever known, Goro-something or whatever the hell it was. He glanced at it to the necklace that was half deep in the snow, then made his way to it and picked it up. "Should we still try selling that thing, Ganon?" asked one of the boys. "Shut up," he ordered.   
  
He opened the box and saw that it was definitely the real deal, the entire inner casing was practically woven in pure silk with a grooved cushion that had a small feather sticking out of a cut in the fabric. Ganon pulled out the feather and gave it a careful look. He smiled to himself, it was one-of-a-kind Cucco down, the hardest damn thing to get from something that unpredictably deadly. Placing the necklace inside the box, he saw that it fitted the grooves of the cushion perfectly. The box and the necklace definitely came together.   
  
That meant the thing was real. He stood in thought for a while, his fingers feeling over the felt of the box in silence.   
  
Ganon closed the lid over the necklace and walked over to Sakon, bending over and giving him a light shove. "You did alright, asshole," he muttered to him, "Sorry if there was a.. misunderstanding." He gave Sakon a harder shove, and the boy rolled with his face covered in the snow, unmoving. Chuckling, Ganon stood up as the others crowded him. "What's the deal?" Jabun asked, "We sellin' it?" Ganon placed the box inside his jacket and pulled his smoke from his lips.   
  
"No we're not," he replied in a low voice, "not till I'm sure I'll get more satisfaction out of it." "The Rupees aren't enough? Ain't it worth like a couple thousand or something?" another one said. Ganon was silent on that one. 'That's right,' he thought, 'It could be worth a whole lot. That's why I'm so sure.' His eyes narrowed. 'There's only one person who can get it to begin with.'  
  
Ganon began walking back to the dorms, and the others followed at a distance. He took a long drag at the joint before throwing it out on the dirt. The box was tucked in his jacket, cold and comforting at the same time. A light grin played over his lips. If he played his cards right, he'll get just what he wants.   
  
***  
  
Sheik paced around the living room. This was a mess. Link was a mess. His foot kicked another empty bottle of beer. This whole place was a mess.. He covered his face with his hands and made a long muffled sound. After cleaning up after Link's.. accident, he was now dressed in one of Link's shirts and pants which happened to be too long. Then he dragged the drunk bastard up the stairs and dropped him on his bed, since Link gave another round of the lovely puke over the couch downstairs..   
  
He sniffed a little and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Gods, it still smelled like it after an hour of scrubbing. He made a pitiful moan and cried, "Since when did I became a freaking nanny? I'm too young to be driven insane by kids and get sent to those crazy houses, not until I'm at least twenty three and have little bastards of my own!" Sheik let out a loud groan and shook his head in frustration. His foot caught an empty bottle of beer and he fell backwards with a loud thump.   
  
Groaning, Sheik rubbed the back of his head. It was hurting like hell, and he laid back in exasperation. He kicked the bottle twice until it rolled under the sofa, then stretched and dropped his arms and legs to the ground from midair. Sheik felt like screaming, but kept it bottled since he knew Link was right upstairs, sleeping like a baby, that asshole.   
  
He turned to his side and stared blankly at the base of the coffee table. On top of it was a massive collection of those fucking beer bottles, all empty and one still standing with half a bottle left. Or half a bottle empty, whatever, it didn't make any difference. It still made Link, oldest, bestest-buddy ol'pal and all that applies, to be the one who was drinking it. The guy didn't even like the stuff, or at least so he thought for the past ten or nine years. Sheik didn't know what pissed him off more, the idea that he didn't know all that much about his best friend or that the former good friend was having a hangover the size of Professor Raul's potbelly.   
  
'Correction,' he thought with a light smile, 'I have a victim of New Girl withdrawal sleeping upstairs.' It doesn't take a genius to figure it out; he turned and laid on his back. "Jeez, Link," he whispered softly, "you'd think this was a little melodramatic for your ass. Even I wouldn't do that kind of shit." A light smile played over his lips as he remembered the first time he and Malon were Science partners. 'Okay, so I blew up a lab once but that doesn't really apply,' he thought humorously. He sighed and glanced at the clock next to the lamp. 'Great,' he thought, 'it's nearly 12:00.'   
  
He let out a loud yawn and briefly closed his eyes. He wasn't tired, he was just gonna lie here till Link wakes up and gets himself together.. at least, not until he made sure the idiot tells him everything. Sheik felt relaxed and calm, the room relatively warm and dark enough to see and not get blinded. He folded his arms behind his head and settled himself in.  
  
Then that doorbell rang, he'll have to remember to break that thing before he leaves. It kept going, and Sheik mumbled in irritation, "Go away, we don't want any." The jackass was now knocking on the door. "Link, hey!" a familiar voice muted from the other side shouted, "Link, it's Steve! Open up, I left my card inside!" Sheik opened one eye and stared at the door. "Oh really?" he muttered.  
  
He flopped to his side and let out a comfortable sigh. "Then that's too bad for you, Stevey," he murmured. Eventually the shouting and pounding stopped. Sheik thought he heard some other guy down the hall telling Steve to shut the fuck up or he'll bury him outside when he fell asleep.   
  
***  
  
Monday came, and it wasn't long when Professor Din was going ballistic over rehearsals. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" she screamed at that poor boy for the tenth time, "YOU CAME OUT FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE STAGE?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT DISRUPTS THE PROPORTION OF THE ENTIRE SETUP?!" Malon, who stopped by from practice, winced and shrunk in her seat. "Don't you think she's a bit dramatic?" she muttered to Zelda, "The play's not until April." Zelda smiled and shook her head. "She found out today that some National Drama Director was coming almost the same time as the play," she explained, "You should've seen the last rehearsal. She told her life's story and said just how much this play is going to do for her career, it was really deep."   
  
Malon nodded and the two of them cast a glance to Saria, who was crowded by hordes of people asking for their pitch and to correct their rhythm before Professor Din found out they were unprepared. "Poor Saria," Zelda muttered, "Din liked all of her pieces and practically added an extra act to fit it in. She's been bombarded with all these people asking for help, she's hired some seniors as bodyguards before she found out they were in the play, too." Malon grinned and said, "Girl's got talent." She leaned back and stretched her spine; then gave Zelda a strange look.   
  
Zelda didn't notice till she caught her stare. "What?" she asked curiously. "Nothing," Malon replied abruptly and looked straight. There was an awkward moment's of silence.. "So um, you feeling okay lately?" the red-hair asked. Zelda blinked and looked up. "Of course I'm feeling okay," she answered, "What made you think I wasn't?"   
  
Malon kneeled down and reached eye level with her, made a half sigh and looked at Zelda again. "It's just – well um.. oh hey, has your dad called in yet?" Zelda shook her head. "No," she replied, "They haven't given him a notice since I had the accident." Malon frowned with displeasure. "Well that isn't very nice," she retorted, "You were near-dead and your dad doesn't come see you?! How inconsiderate! If it were my dad I'd track him down myself and threaten to run off with some guy and live off the streets!"   
  
They both laughed over the idea, and Zelda answered, "Well it's not like they stopped trying immediately. The school and the hospital tried contacting him on and off, but they couldn't reach him. He got a lot of late offers for the business he sold last year and now he wants it back. His secretary said he's been negotiating with the company he sold it to and the others that want it, but he left on such a short notice last time that he didn't bring a cell phone or tell her where he was leaving to." Malon stared with widened eyes. "Gods," she sad slowly, "it's like your dad was trying to get himself lost. He's very irresponsible isn't he?" She gave Zelda a sly gaze and added, "I see it runs in the family."   
  
Zelda feigned a look of anger and shoved Malon lightly. "Who are you calling irresponsible?!" she cried out. Malon giggled and settled herself down on the ground. "You weren't here then," she said, "but they've changed the date to the family day." "Family day?" "It's the first time of the year our family visit us, the second one's one near the end of the school year, don't you remember?" Malon inquired, and splayed out three fingers, "Family day's next Friday, the 23rd, the winter dance is on January 21st, and your play's on April the 31st."   
  
The blonde sat in awe. "We have a winter dance now, too?" she asked. "Actually," Malon answered with a smile, "we're planning to have one. Nabby told me the entire schedule that the congress is setting up, so not a lot of people know about it yet. But make sure you get in touch with your dad before then, I'd like to meet him."   
  
"Hey, girls," a deep, cool masculine voice rang and stirred Zelda. It couldn't be.. she looked up hesitantly, and realized her mistake. Mikau was beaming on them, one arm carrying a large set of long wooden props for the scenery. She bit her lip, 'Of course. Why would it be him anyway.. but he sounds just like him.' "Hi, Mikau," Malon answered breathily and added a flirtatious grin, "I.. didn't know you were in the play." "Oh yea, well I am," he answered smiling, "I see our cheerleading squad's taking a break."   
  
Malon giggled uncontrollably that Zelda had to shake her by the shoulder to calm her down. Zelda smiled at Malon and then at Mikau, who took the scene quite humorously. "So, Mikau," Zelda said abruptly when Malon hadn't stopped her twittering, "You're part of the set crew? How's it coming along?" "Nah, no, I'm not," Mikau answered with a brush through his hair with a hand, "I actually have a part, Din just wanted some guys to help around with some manual labor, that's all."   
  
"Really?" Malon said with an overenthusiastic tone, "What role are you playing?" "Actually, I'm the lead," Mikau replied in a retiring voice. "Wow!" Malon exclaimed excitedly, "You must be a very good actor!" "I'm not that good," Mikau answered, "Besides - " He was interrupted when a group people pushed him down the aisle to get onstage. "Oh, sorry," he said to them and looked back at the girls, "So, I'll talk to you guys later." He waved as he walked towards the stage. "Seeya."   
  
Malon smiled and waved after him. "Bye-bye.." she said in a half-longing tone. Zelda repressed the grin and mimicked, "Bye-bye.. wow, as if you couldn't flirt enough." "Shut up!" Malon said lightly while laughing, "That was merely a polite conversation." "Sure," Zelda answered sarcastically, "You might as well have asked him to sweep you off your feet and ride off into the sunset." Malon sighed and answered, "Oh, if only, my dear."   
  
They laughed over the matter when Malon asked suddenly, "Are you still seeing Kafei anymore?" Zelda was surprised at the random question and replied, "No, I guess not. He hasn't called me or talked for a couple of weeks now, so I guess it's over." "Oh," Malon said sympathetically, "I'm sorry, shouldn't have asked." "It's okay," Zelda objected, "it was fun for a while, I didn't think it was a serious relationship." Malon raised her eyebrows.   
  
"You sure you're okay?" she asked.   
  
Zelda looked at her and slowly smiled. "Yes, I'm okay, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me, alright?" "No, I'm just saying – it's just that, if you're not that hung over Kafei why.." Malon became silent and gave Zelda a reassuring smile. "Forget it, I'm just paranoid," she said and stood up, "Well I have to get back to practice now, I'll talk to you later!" "Okay," Zelda replied and sat back into her chair.   
  
She stared at the packet of music in her lap that she had been looking through before Malon had arrived. Her hands leafed through each page that she stared at with disinterest, and she rested her chin on a palm as she gazed blankly at the notes and words written across each page. She flipped over to a page where she had lines to recite. Apparently her character created the chaos in the story for a profound reason unlike those cartoons whose villains were innately evil. It was her favorite part, since she thought it made the sorceress more humane. Her lips mouthed the words in silence when a familiar voice swept past her.   
  
"Hey," they said. Zelda looked up for a second and answered, "Hi, Mik-" She caught herself and saw Link walk down the aisle, his back towards her as he headed for the bottom rows of seats. 'Why did he..' she thought perplexed, watching him as he took out a pair of earphones and started listening to a CD. After the last time she saw him, it was clear that Link didn't return her feelings at all, least of all to even say anything to her ever since she stopped him in the hallway.   
  
She found herself caught between emotions, part of her wanting to believe in the brighter side and chase after something that was out of her reach. At the same time she hated him beyond belief: for making her cry at night when she laid in bed and had nothing else to distract her from thinking about him, for putting up that straight face around others and trying so hard just to act normal, and above all, making her stop at moments and wonder where he was and what he was doing. Was he thinking of her?, she'd always wonder. She detested him for it. She hated and loathed him more than anything imaginable, clinging to herself out of frustration when trying to grasp for someone who was never there.   
  
'But when I finally free myself from it,' she thought, 'When I start to forget him, why am I still unhappy?' Her vision blurred as she still gazed at him, forever watching him from behind. Even though.. though he may never accept her, she would never abandon this blissful sorrow.. to yearn and not have, watching and caring for him at a distance. A dull ache in her chest settled with a stinging sensation rising to her eyes. Zelda blinked, and felt the tear drop on top of her papers. She turned her head back to the script, her face cast down. A sad smile formed over her lips, and she tucked a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear as she quickly dried her cheeks.   
  
"I hope you don't mind," she muttered, feeling Link's presence in the distance, and felt complete by it. She looked at the words on the script and began reading them to herself.   
  
***  
  
"Stop, STOP! UGH!" Professor Din covered her face and made a loud groan, "Okay, okay.. can I have only the orchestra people in the front rows? Everyone else, go to the back until we're done going over that last measure with – ARGH!! WHERE'S NAYRU?!" Link raised an eyebrow and slowly hoisted himself up. He walked up the aisles and saw Zelda reading a packet, her lips moving just slightly but fast. For some weird reason he felt he should be doing something too, but he had no fucking idea of what. It's like he should start jumping around like an idiot and wave his arms around till he got her to look at him for a moment. 'What the hell..,' he thought and made a face, 'Just what am I trying to pull?'  
  
Someone bumped behind him and kept rubbing against him. Link turned around and saw Ruto smiling, plus about a whole lot of other people who were trying to get past. "Hey, Link," she said in a husky voice, "Do you mind moving a little?" She nudged closer, for some reason curving her spine a lot and trying to thrust her breasts at him. 'Dude,' he thought, 'five years and I can't believe she's still at it.' Link bit his tongue to keep from laughing, with that freaky stage makeup Ruto looked like a clown. "Sorry Ruto but um," he made a motion to Zelda. "My girl's waiting for me," he joked. Ruto put up a bitchy front and shoved herself past him. "Jeez," he muttered, "it's not like I wasn't being nice."   
  
He walked up to the aisle seat next to Zelda, which had her bookbag and other stuff on it. "Yo," he said and she finally looked up. Blue-violet eyes.. "Can you move this so I can sit here?" he asked. "Oh, sure," she answered and moved it to the seat on the other side. "Thanks," he added, and sat down. He glanced at her just as she went back to reading her packet.   
  
' "You gotta' give her some signs," Sheik's voice rang in his head from the other night, "I mean, dude, if I were a girl and I got dissed like that, I'd have put you out and sent you crawling back to your mama on raw knees." "Yea but," Link retorted to him, "it's not like she's gonna care. I mean, come on, she's got a fucking pretty boy hanging around her and everything." Sheik smacked him on the head. "So what?" he asked loudly, "That ever stop you before?" Sheik got up and started walking around Link who sat on the sofa-chair, waving an empty beer bottle as he walked in circles.   
  
"What happened to my man, huh? You ain't gonna let lil' ol' Kafei mess up with you, nooo, nuh unh. You know what's your problem?" Sheik waved the bottle in front of his face. "And that ain't all, friend," he pointed to the other sofa, which still stunk a little.. "Yea," Link answered, "so?" Sheik put the bottle down and stood in front of him. "I think you're letting this girl get to your head," he said, "and dude, I'm sorry for getting all worked up but THAT -" He pointed at the mess of beer bottles on the coffee table, "THAT.. is way off your fucking limit. To think after being stuck with me for half your life you'd think twice in that brain of yours not to ever drink that sort of shit. Plus dumping that necklace over the bridge?! Jeez man, if you don't want it I could've used it!"   
  
Link gave him a strange look. "Since when did you start cross-dressing, you bastard?" he asked humorously. Sheik grinned and answered, "It ain't for me, alright? That's all I'm gonna say." Link's eyes widened. "No way," he said slowly, "Dude, did you do what I think you did?!" Sheik tried to hide his smile. "If you mean that I let my dumb ass self talk too much, then yea. But if you're saying if I slept with Malon, NO."   
  
Link sat back in disappointment. "Aw come on," he said, "you don't get a guy worked up like that. Besides, you're in the same shit as me. You had a crush on her since kindergarten and how far you've been going?" Sheik pretended to put on a pair of glasses. "Well I'm sorry to discourage you lesser mortals," he said in a thick voice, "but I'm in a better spot with Malon now. Didn't mean to break your heart, man, but I'm taken." Link scoffed lightly and grinned. "Cut that out," he said.   
  
Sheik clicked his tongue and pointed his fingers at Link gun-style. "Don't worry, I got what you need," he said, "Ya see, the way it worked out with Malon was this: I acted like the mature human being I always knew you weren't." Link kicked Sheik's leg; who laughed and put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, sorry man," he said, "if you want the real truth, I got her pissed and she fell on me by accident. But we started talking, you know? And after a while it was easy making her laugh and all, and it was kinda nice. I mean like, the way she started acting like she liked spending time with me and I didn't screw it up it was just.. yea .. really cool."   
  
Link watched as Sheik started having a blank, dreamy look. "So all I'm saying is," Sheik finally said after a while, "if you like her that much, let her know a little. Don't go out and buy her another necklace and dump it over the side of a bridge again, you wasteful bastard, but stop trying to impress her doing stuff like making out with Vicky and seeing how she'd act. Even if she doesn't like you, it's not like she'll scream and knock you out if you just tried to talk to her." '  
  
  
  
The memory of last night ended, and he found himself looking at Zelda who was still engrossed in her reading. Link hesitated, and leaned forward a bit. "So what're you reading?" he asked, knowing all too well just what that large pile of tree-killing papers was. She looked up and smiled a little. "It's my script for the play," she answered. "Really? What part are you playing?" he replied. 'That was good. See, this isn't so bad..,' he thought encouragingly. Now if only his chest stopped pounding like a fucking drum and he didn't start feeling so uncomfortably warm, everything will be okay.   
  
"I'm the sorceress," she responded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Oh so I guess you must be great at playing the evil roles," he joked with a laugh. Zelda looked a little stunned but smiled firmly, going back to her script. 'Crap, that was bad, you asshole,' Link cursed and bit his tongue. "Um," he started, "so you must like doing drama, right?" She smiled at him and answered, "Actually, Din sort of dragged me into it." "Oh yea?" Link said with a grin, "Yea, I can see her in one of those navy uniforms with a whip and threatening your life if you didn't do it." She actually laughed and responded, "I guess Din can be a little dramatic."   
  
"Still," Link added and laid back in his chair, "you must be really good to impress her like that." Zelda gazed at him for a moment, and Link tried hard to stare in front of him, her looking at him like that made his insides feel weird. "Thanks," she said, and went back to reading. He nodded absent-mindedly and put back on his earphones. Link shot a quick glance at her, and continued looking at the stage. Sheik was right.. this does feel good. He smiled to himself and sat, for some reason happy and comfortable right where he was.   
  
~ I thought I was dragging this thing way too long, so I finally started making them take the first step. (readers: dude, you're slow ^-^ ; ) I hope people liked this chapter, thanks to everyone who helped point out the things I keep missing in my writing! (BIIIG cheer!!) And I'm sorry to say, do to my incompetence, I wasn't able to reply reviews for previous chapters (which were all mostly "sorry, I'm too lazy" chappys anyway) once I get myself reorganized, Review Reply will return!! THANK YOU ALL FOR READING SO FAR!!!! (cries out of joy) 


	14. Tying up loose ends

I apologize for making you all wait, especially making you wait for something that wasn't even promised to happen. I really enjoyed writing RL and keeping it going as long as it had, and I greatly appreciate all the wonderful comments people left. I do have bad news, and it's that I won't continue to write RL any longer. I had to make the decision for a variety of reasons (which include my old computer crashing and losing my files, a change in style, and a lack of motivation and time to commit to the project) I wish I could have finished the story and not have disappointed everyone, but I'm afraid that I chose to leave it and move on. I'm sorry for the lack of a conclusion to the romance, but I do have previous ideas that I'm going to share. I've also included explanations for certain things like Mikau and Kafei's tense relationship and what major plot points I was planning to write. I hope you enjoy it with my best regards.

_elfboylover_

The play

At the last minute before the performance (where Din was expecting a huge critic to attend) Ruto goes super diva and decides she wasn't going through with it. In a twist much like the Phantom of the Opera, Zelda gets pulled in to performing the lead because she's the only one who knows the music and can reach the soprano notes. Her understudy takes over the role of sorceress, and the performance begins.

There is a kissing scene near the beginning between the male lead (Mikau) and Zelda. In this scene, Zelda is lying on the bed onstage with her eyes closed. She can only hear what's going on around her and hears Mikau's voice as he recites his lines and approaches her. He bends down and kisses her, and for some reason Zelda feels that the kiss reminded her of the dream she had when she was in the hospital. When he finishes and it is her cue to open her eyes, Zelda is astonished to find that it wasn't Mikau, but Link standing there.

Apparently Link was the lead role (pulled into the play by Din's persuasiveness) and Mikau had only been the understudy. The play goes on smoothly to the end, and during the after party Zelda chats with Link about the performance. Link acts awkwardly around her and cuts the conversation short by bailing the party, explaining that it "wasn't his crowd" and he felt "surrounded by drama freaks". Zelda is both hurt and frustrated at him, and spends the rest of her night with her friends who tell her that she shouldn't waste her time on an idiot.

Family weekend

Every year the school devotes a family weekend for all the students and their family. Various events are planned throughout the day and everybody's family or relative pay a visit. Malon is walking on her own when she sees Sheik with his family and notices something startling. Sheik's family all have dark hair, skin and eyes, and it is immediately apparent that he is not blood related to them. When Sheik was a young boy, his parents were killed by a drunk driver. He was taken in by a Gerudo family and raised with three other siblings. The family's funds were not sufficient enough to send him to school, but because of Sheik's close relationship with Link his parents were given a very generous loan from Link's family to help send Sheik to school.

Malon observes how gentle and loving Sheik is towards his family and realizes how his bad boy reputation was only a face he keeps up towards his peers. She later finds him alone and sits to talk to them. The two of them talked for long hours about family and dreams, when Malon kisses him and Sheik is stunned. She smiles and leaves him while he replays the scene in his head with shocked surprise and joy.

Mikau and the graveyard

Mikau visits the grave of a girl named Romani, who was once Kafei's girlfriend and had died several months ago. Mikau jumps back to his memories of how she was heartbroken when Kafei left her. She went into a deep depression that no one could shake her out of, and eventually took her own life with sleeping pills. Mikau, her older brother, found out from a doctor that she had been pregnant when she died.

He wondered if it had been Kafei's child, but Kafei denied it and said that it could have been another boy that Romani was with. Mikau initially believes him, but over the past months he investigated further into the situation until he found evidence that the baby was indeed Kafei's. Mikau confronted Kafei earlier that week and made him confess everything. They end up fighting and both are badly beaten, and for this the two of them were temporarily suspended from school. Despite the consequences, Mikau feels that he can put his memory of his sister at peace. He spends time talking to Romani by her grave and leaving her flowers.

_at the beginning of Chapter 10, Mikau and Kafei get into a verbal fight where they both decided to not be friends. They eventually become friendly again throughout the story and go back to the way things were. Mikau hadn't been sure whether or not to believe that Kafei was the father of his sister's baby, and as a result his behavior around Kafei is double sided – being both a good friend and a cautious enemy. The event at the graveyard and their eventual fistfight occurs much later, with details that led up to Mikau's doubts about Kafei and his investigation into his sister's death_

Spring dance/Link's question

Spring formal comes around and Link spends the entire week fumbling and messing up his plans to ask Zelda out. He either fails at taking the chance to talk to her or makes her mad when he inadvertently insults her. Zelda eventually gets asked by Mikau to the dance and accepts, and becomes flustered afterwards at Link's unusual behavior towards her. He is both jealous and hurt, and alternates between lashing out at her randomly and being kind.

At the dance, Malon and Sheik are together as a couple and Mikau had to leave the dance early. Zelda is left without a date or anyone to hang out with when she notices Link is alone. He makes his way towards her and with a smile asks her to dance with him. Zelda's response is a cold and angry rejection, and she tells Link to grow up before he tries to make a move on her. She leaves the dance and goes outside, and Link runs out after her.

They stand yelling at each other – Link wants to know why she hates him and Zelda demands an explanation for why she shouldn't hate him. She attacks his immature behavior and criticizes his nerve to even dare talk to her after being nothing more than an abusive jerk. Link is bewildered and angrily storms off, cursing Zelda and unable to bring himself to clarity.

Zelda runs off in tears and frustration and takes a walk to calm her nerves. She doesn't realize she's being followed by one of Ganon's henchmen, who drugs her and carries her off. They bring her deeper into the woods where Ganon and his gang are hanging out, and Ganon recognizes Zelda as the "New Girl" that Link had bought the expensive necklace for. He forms a plan to lure Link into a trap using Zelda as bait, who lies drugged and unconscious.

Back at the dance, Link is confronted by Saria and Malon as to where Zelda had been. He realizes that she hadn't returned and starts to worry about her. Just as a mini search party begins to look for her, Sakon approaches Link and slides a note to him. The note tells Link where to find Zelda and to come alone, otherwise they will "make her disappear". He knows it's a trap, but goes alone anyway. On his way he sends a text message to Sheik to let him know what he's doing and tells Sheik to not call him back.

In the woods, Zelda is laid on the ground. Link arrives and is immediately surrounded by Ganon and his gang. He cannot wake Zelda or free her, and sees someone take out a knife. He anticipates a fight, but is instead gagged and drugged. Ganon taunts Link as he lies helpless, watching the gang surround Zelda and making leery comments. Link's tries to crawl over to her but his vision starts to fade, and he blacks out.

Next morning

Link wakes up in the woods early in the morning with a headache. He feels his clothes had been partly removed, and notices that he was holding the knife that someone had last night. Zelda was lying next to him, still unconscious. His mind is still blurry as he sits up to try and understand the situation when a search party of students and professors finds him and Zelda together. It is then that Link starts to realize what had happened.

Zelda's dress had been pulled up, her legs spread open and various cuts were made on her limbs and face. Link's disheveled clothes and the bloodied knife on his hand immediately frames him as the culprit. The professors drag him off as he tries to explain what had happened, and Zelda gets sent to the hospital. Link is put into the police station, where they start to interrogate him for answers.

He tells them what he remembers, and swears that Ganon and his friends had set him up. The officers send for Ganon and each of his cronies and ask them some questions. Each of them deny any involvement with the incident and Link's alibi doesn't hold.

When Zelda wakes up, she hears an explanation from her friends as to what happened. She is unconvinced by the story that Link had threatened her with a knife and raped her until she had passed out. She tries to explain what had really happened, but she doesn't remember anything and everyone else is convinced that Link had done it. It was later that the doctors inform Zelda that she had not been raped, but that they do know what she had been drugged with. Zelda becomes more certain that Link had not raped her, but still did not have enough evidence to help him get out of jail.

Sheik finds Zelda and tells her about the text message Link had sent the previous night, and how he had gone after her to save her from Ganon. Zelda believes him and they rush down to the police station to plead for Link's case. They mention the drug that had been used on Zelda, in which traces of it was found in Link's blood. Later on, the investigators find the drug under the backseat of a car that belonged to Ganon's friend, and the entire group is sentenced under multiple charges for their possession and use of the drug, conspiracy, and criminal conduct.

Link is freed and Zelda is the first to greet him. He apologizes for everything – being an asshole, getting her into danger, hurting her feelings – and is stopped by Zelda who puts a finger to his lips. She takes his hands and kisses them, and the two of them hug and hold each other. Their moment ends abruptly by Sheik, who throws his arms around the two and starts to tease them for taking so long.

The three of them return to school, where they were surrounded by people who wanted to know what had really happened. Link and Zelda escape the crowd and run off on Link's motorcycle, and the two of them spend the day together. They spent the time talking about the first time they met, the things they hoped to do together, and how blind they both were to each other's feelings. Link is joking about Zelda's first day at school when she surprises him with a kiss.

Link starts to move in too fast, but he stops himself before he pushed Zelda too far. He makes a promise to himself to make the moment last and not treat Zelda the way he treated other girls. Zelda, who already knew that Link respected and cared about her, swears to make him forget that she was the "New Girl".

The conclusion?

(1) in which Sheik dies saving Link/Malon from Ganon

(2) in which Ganon takes the school hostage/has a mental condition

(3) in which Zelda and Link split? Hmmmm

(4) in which link and ganon go to jail together

(5) in which the school gets burned down…

(6) in which Malon, Saria, and Zelda go off on a trip (without the boys)

(7) in which a new year begins


End file.
